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METHODISM IN EARNEST. 



THE HISTORY OF A 



REVIVAL IN GREAT BRITAIN, 

IN WHICH 

TWENTY THOUSAND SOULS PROFESSED FAITH 
IN CHRIST, 

AND 

TEN THOUSAND PROFESSED SANCTIFICATION 

IN CONNECTION WITH THE LABORS OF THE 

REV. JAMES CAUGHEY. 

ISitjr m Mrntartimt 

By THOS. 0. SUMMERS, D.D. 



RICHMOND AND LOUISVILLE: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN EARLY, 

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. 

1852. 

f 



ut OF QQHUH 



I 






Entered according to Act of Congress, 

in the year 1850, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 

Massachusetts. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The first edition of this work was issued about a year since, 
and the ninth edition is now in pressing demand. This is suffi- 
cient evidence that, whatever rank may be assigned it in respect 
to its literary character, it must possess elements which entitle 
it to more than a matter-of-course approval or a flippaut and sum- 
mary denunciation. As the copyright of the work has been 
purchased by the Rev. Dr. Early, Book Agent of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, and the present edition is issued with 
the imprimatur of the Church, thereby securing it an extended 
circulation, it may not be improper fc> call attention to the sub- 
ject-matter of the volume, the animus by which it is pervaded, 
and the peculiarities of its style. 

Few subjects are of greater interest — to the Methodist com 
munity, at least — than revivals of religion. We allude to those 
special visitations of mercy, and seasons " of refreshing from 
the presence of the Lord," in which Christians are stirred up to 
greater diligence and zeal, and sinners are awakened and con- 
verted to God. These outpourings of the Spirit are usually pre- 
ceded by fervent and importunate prayer, together with pulpit 
and pastoral efforts of a more than ordinarily specific, discriminat- 
ing, and earnest character. Their necessity is seen in the fact, 
that without them, formality and earthly-mindedness will over- 
spread the Church, and it will be consequently powerless as an 
agent for the conversion of the world. Their necessity argues 
their utility, which, moreover, is demonstrated by the " signs 
following ;" for if we make a liberal deduction from the ostensible 






IV INTRODUCTION. 






results of a revival, on the score of self-deception and hypocrisy, 
beyond all controversy, a vast amount of good is effected by 
every such visitation of mercy. Fountains of religious feeling 
are opened up in many an arid heart, the indubitable seal of 
grace is affixed to many a doubting soul, and the season of re- 
freshing proves the jpunctum saliens of spiritual life in the case 
of many a sinner, who, so far as we can discover, would otherwise 
still remain dead in trespasses and sins. And it is by no means 
certain, as some affirm, that those who are brought into the 
church by those flood-tides of gracious influence are, on the 
whole, less stable than others. There are more of such that prove 
inconsistent in their profession and practice, because the number 
of those who are brought into the church by other methods bear 
a small proportion to the former. But we are not prepared to 
say, that the per centage of the one in this respect, is greater 
than that of the other. From a somewhat extended induction 
of facts, we are disposed to assume a contrary position. By far 
the greatest number of influential Christians, with whom it is our 
privilege to be acquainted, date the commencement of their reli- 
gious course from some occasion of extraordinary awakening and 
revival. 

These views are strikingly illustrated and corroborated in the 
present volume ; and on this account especially, we commend 
it to a careful and candid perusal. We can determine the cha- 
racter and claims of a system much more readily and satisfactorily 
by observing its actual working and developement, than by dis- 
cussing its abstract principles. And we feel very confident that, 
whatever doubts may be entertained in regard to many of Mr. 
Caughey's positions and movements, no one can fail to discover 
that the course he pursued was philosophically adapted to pro- 
duce the results he proposed. He determined, by God's help, 
to make full proof of his ministry; and to this end he devoted 
all his time and talents, and on this, with an earnestness amount- 
ing to an all-absorbing passion, he concentrated all his efforts 
and attainments. His principles and plans of procedure, as set 



INTRODUCTION. V 

forth in the first four chapters of this volume, challenge the 
strictest scrutiny, and cannot be noted, by those who labor in 
the word and doctrine, without advantage. 

Serious exceptions were taken to the spirit of this work, in cer- 
tain quarters, when the first edition was published. The author 
was charged with egotism amounting to self-glorification, and 
enthusiasm involving dangerous delusion. If this charge could 
be substantiated, it were well to suppress the publication; and 
we might be glad to have it in our power to restrict its pernicious 
influence. But it is not so easy to prove this charge as it is to 
make it. That Mr. Caughey is egotistic, we admit. As a re- 
vivalist, he had less to do with the objective in religion than with 
the subjective — less with the abstract than with the concrete. 
He was perpetually making religion a personal affair; and to set 
it forth effectually to others, he found it expedient to recur to its 
operations in his own experience. This is the way to move upon 
men, especially upon the masses of society, who are less affected 
with systematic dogma and close argumentation than they are 
with the living embodiment of the great principles recommended 
and enforced upon their attention. This, in most instances, is 
the secret of the success of those who are called revivalists. It 
was so with Mr. Wesley : he did not consider it in bad taste to 
make frequent allusions to himself, both in the pulpit and press. 
Indeed, in conducting the Arminian Magazine, he challenged 
the right to decline the editorial style — which may be used with 
a feeling of regality, as well as one of modesty — and invariably 
used the first person singular. Our most devotional hymns are 
of this subjective character — and a late writer of the High Church 
school has objected to them on this very ground. But the 
Psalms of David and the Epistles of St. Paul are in the same 
condemnation; and it is a less misfortune to be condemned with 
them than approved with their impugners. It has been well 
said: "Egotism is a word which has obtained a bad sense; but 
it must not be forgotten that it has a good sense; and that, in 
this sense, every truly great man is an egotist. For it is by in- 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

timate moral and critical acquaintance with himself that ho 
becomes powerful over the thoughts and feelings of our kind in 
general." 

'Speaking of Milton, Coleridge nervously says: "In the Para- 
dise Lost — indeed, in every one of his poems — it is Milton him- 
self whom you see — his Satan, his Adam, his Raphael, almost 
his Eve, are all John Milton; and it is a sense of this intense 
egotism that gives me the greatest pleasure in reading his works. 
The egotism of such a man is a revelation of spirit." That a 
man may carry his egotism beyond the bounds of good taste and 
sound judgment, will not be disputed; and that Mr. Caughey 
may have done so in some instances may be admitted; but that 
he has done so with any motive of self-glorification, seems un- 
charitable to assert and hard to credit, in view of the simplicity 
and godly sincerity which mark all his movements. 

In regard to the charge of enthusiasm — the term being used 
in a bad sense — we confess the artless and unstudied manner in 
which he speaks of his mental exercises and reasons of action, is 
well enough adapted to elicit the imputation. He, himself, 
admits the ambiguity of the word "revelation," which occurred 
in the account of his call to visit the British Islands, and sug- 
gested the substitution of "impression or persuasion," in future 
editions, which has accordingly taken place. To many minds, 
revelation is associated with supernatural voices, oracular dreams, 
angelic appearances, and sortes of various kinds — miraculous in- 
terventions which we have no scriptural authority to expect, and 
on which it were a delusion to rely. It must be confessed that 
a captious reader of Mr. Caughey' s Letters might discover some 
ground to suspect that his imagination transported him at times 
beyond the bounds of strict sobriety. But we must allow his 
own explanation of the fervid language which he occasionally 
employs; and as he solemnly disclaims all pretension to miracu- 
lous endowments and visitations, it is uncandid to fasten upon 
him the charge of enthusiasm. 

He admits that he received impressions which he doubts not 



INTRODUCTION. vil 

were of divine origination. And who will affirm they were not? 
Instead of being a miracle, this is the law of the spiritual 
life. It is the established, and, we will add, the necessary order 
of God, in the economy of providence and grace. It is implied 
in the doctrine of divine influence, which is fundamental in the 
Christian system. How is a sinner awakened and convinced of 
sin, but by the inward working of the Holy Ghost upon his 
mind, conscience, and heart? How is a believer assured of his 
acceptance in the Beloved, but "by the inspiration/' as the best 
divines, including many of the Reformers, express it, — the testi- 
mony of the Spirit of God, witnessing with his spirit that he is 
now a child of God? And what is this testimony of the Holy 
Ghost, but an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit 
of God immediately and directly bears witness to the fact in 
question ? It is so defined by Mr. Wesley, in perfect accordance 
with Scripture, reason, experience, and the soundest theologians 
of the reformed churches. And we may add, that an inspira- 
tion, impression, or influence, not altogether unlike this, is ex- 
perienced by every Christian minister who sincerely responds to 
the interrogatory of the ordinal : " Do you trust that you are 
inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you the office 
of the ministry ?" If this means something less than miraculous 
intervention, which we admit is the case, it must be acknow- 
ledged it means something more than a bias of the mind induced 
by the ordinary process of ratiocination — something more than 
what a man's own reason is competent to originate independently 
of divine influence. And the clergyman who ridicules as enthu- 
siasm all pretension to such influence, would do well to inquire 
if he might not have committed sacrilege in assuming an office 
to which he was not in vardly moved by the Holy Ghost, — not to 
say, perjury, in solemnly professing to be the subject of an in- 
fluence which he considers temerity to claim. 

It may be a nice point to determine when an impression is of 
divine origination. It may require much prayer, close scrutiny 
of motives, careful consultation of the inspired records, and 



nil INTRODUCTION. 

unreserved conference with judicious Christian friends — all these- 
tests may be had in requisition ; but then the interests involved 
Justify the most rigid investigation , and no one incapable of 
subjecting himself to it is ever the subject of the Spirit's in- 
fluence. 

We may be satisfied of the supernatural origin of our impres- 
sions, if they are strong, permanent, increasing in intenseness, 
when thoroughly scrutinized and made the subject of fervent 
prayer — when they are not contrary to the Scriptures — when 
they are accompanied with outward providences of a correspond- 
ing complexion — and when they tend to the good of man and 
the glory of God. And we may be permitted to remark, in this 
connection, that such celestial guidance and control is of immense 
importance — it is postulated by the precepts and exhortations to 
prayer and trust in God, and secured to the obedient Christian 
by the promises and stipulations of the covenant of grace. Thus, 
among a thousand passages of a kindred character, we read : 
" Trust in the Lord with all thy heart; and lean not unto thine 
own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he 
shall direct thy paths. " "Be careful for nothing; but in every 
thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your 
requests be made known unto God." And there can be no 
question, that were this more fully acted upon by us, we should 
more distinctly recognize the divine interposition in our behalf, 
and we should be saved from a thousand anxieties and misgivings 
with regard to our plans and pursuits — the pillar of cloud would 
go before us by day, and the pillar of fire by night, to guide and 
guard us in all our goings. 

"By thine unerring Spirit led, 

We shall not in the desert stray ! 
We shall not full direction need, 

Nor miss our providential way ! 
As far from danger as from fear, 
While love, almighty love is near." 

. Mr. Caughey seems to have reduced these principles to prac- 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

lice; and in this respect, only, differed from the generality of 
professing Christians. Few will dispute their Scriptural cha- 
racter; but, alas ! few are disposed to carry them out in all their 
practical details; and the reason for this delinquency, as com- 
monly given, is the fear of enthusiasm. This fear is well-nigh 
superseded by the tendency of the age, which is in the opposite 
direction, so that we are less in danger of enthusiasm than of 
almost any other evil. If there be one time more opportune 
than another for the publication of such a volume as "Methodism 
in Earnest," it is the present time; and we accordingly welcome 
its appearance, and hope that the transfer of the copyright to 
the Southern Methodist Church may greatly extend its circulation 
and influence. 

In regard to the style of this work, it is only necessary to say, 
it is somewhat of the composite order. The subject-matter was 
selected and arranged from the Letters of Mr. Caughey, by the 
Rev. R. W. Allen, and edited by the Rev. D. Wise. As there 
are five volumes of those Letters, embracing a great variety of 
subjects besides those which refer to Mr. Caughey's experience 
and labors, the latter had to be eliminated and blended together, 
before a consecutive history could be presented. This must have 
been a work of no small difficulty, and the Preface to the first 
edition contains a candid acknowledgment that it could not be 
done so as to secure as smooth and even a narrative as might be 
desired. In addition to this, Mr, Caughey's Letters do not ex- 
hibit a homogeneous style. The liberal use which he made of 
his common-place book, by introducing brilliant sentences from 
other authors, particularly snatches of poetry — sometimes appa- 
rently turning aside to introduce a favorite passage, instead of 
letting it fall into its place, as it were, of its own accord, or dis- 
pensing with its services — as also the diversified circumstances 
under which his Letters were written — give the work more 
uniqueness than uniformity. But this is a matter scarcely worth 
noting. Indeed, we are not sure that this very peculiarity, 
which some might be disposed to consider a flaw in the perform-. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

ance, might be viewed in a totally different light by others ; and 
no one can doubt that the interest of the reader, which would 
flag amid faultless and regular periods, containing nothing but 
eloquent platitudes and beautiful generalities, may be sustained 
and increased by the frequent recurrence of novel statement, 
abrupt transition, startling apostrophe, and exciting epigram. 
Whatever objections may be made to "Methodism in Earnest," 
we hazard little in saying that no one will pronounce it a dull 
book. In regard to this matter, we have no misgivings concern- 
ing the verdict of the reader — whom we have, perhaps, detained 
too long from its perusal. We will therefore conclude, by pray- 
ing most sincerely that its extended circulation may result in 
lasting good to the church, and redound to the glory of its 
exalted Head. 

Charleston, 8. C, Jan. 22, 1851. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

THE INTRODUCTORY. 

Human experiences — Their uses— Sin of slighting them — A great religion! 
fact — Sympathy of a pious mind necessary — The instrument — Mr. 
Caughey's early history— Description of Mr. Caughey — The work of the 
Holy Spirit in forming his revival character, 9 

CHAPTER II. 

THE ANOINTING. 

Christ and his apostles — Paul — Luther — Wesley — Their spiritual baptisms 

— Mr. Caughey's anointing — Remarks of Dr. Adam Clarke — Their influ- 
ence on Mr. Caughev's mind — The solemn resolutions — The duration of a 
deep conviction — The source of instrumental sufficiency — Reflection on 
the effect of Dr. Clarke's thought — Praise to God — The beginning of the 
Spirit's work in preparing the instrument, 13 

CHAPTER III. 

THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 

Necessity of sympathy between God and his instruments — The dead church 

— The preacher's concern — A series of meetings — A defeat — Analysis of 
its causes — Influence of a minister on his brethren — The great lesson — 
The resolution — Revival sermons prepared — The common -place book — 
Good advice — Consecration of the sermon — Ordinary services — The new 
station — Preparations for a spiritual battle — Cromwell's advice to his sol- 
diers — Sources of confidence — Difficulties foreseen but not feared — The 
battle begun — A nine weeks' conflict — A glorious victory — Uses of vic- 
tory — Treatment of converts — Mr. Caughey's reflections on the failure of 
revival operations — Every preacher ought to be a revivalist — The mental 
conflicts of preachers, ... 18 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

God's word has oeen long tested — The basis of Mr. Caughey's movements — 
The letter to a friend — The protracted meeting— The spirit of the laborers 

xi 



Xll CONTENTS. 

*- Character of the people — Example of dead ministers avoided — Meetings 
night and day — The resistance — The stir — Inquiry — Increasing congre- 
gations — Truth and its majesty — Pure motives — Expectations — Faithful 
preaching — Calm reliance on the truth — Fulness of Christ declared — No 
time-servers in the way of success — A touching anecdote — Great resist- 
ance among sinners — Increased boldness in the church — Confidence in the 
truth displayed — The extremity — Pompey's saying — The minister and 
the blacksmith — A nail in a sure place — The triumph — Uncommon ef- 
forts necessary — The motto of the church, ..... 29 

CHAPTER V. 

THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 

An affecting fact — Opinion of the reader — Good men have had faith in di 
vine impressions — Scriptural authority — Fruits are the tests of impres- 
sions — Objections met — Feeble instrumentalities — Intention to marry — 
Mental distress — A struggle — Light from heaven — The summons to a 
special work — Great peace — The request — Its success — Serious consid 
eration — Permanency of Mr. Caughey's impressions — Providence Path — 
Careful analysis of mental operations — Faith in God, ... 42 

CHAPTER VI. 

FIRST FRUITS. 

Leaving home — Passage to St. John's — The deserted village — Sore trials 

— Counsels of a Scotch divine — An old tannery — Victory — A chapel 
built — Hospitality — Montreal — Reminiscences — Signs of revival — A 
discordant church — Passage to Quebec — Reflections on a poor pilot and 
a detention — Extract — Reflections on a deceitful light-ship — Reception 
at Quebec — Old friends — A spiritual battle — Satan overthrown — Glo- 
rious revival — The trifler saved — A military officer afraid of God's sol- 
diers — A man of business saved — Results — The song of a holy woman, 68 

CHAPTER VII. 

REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

Departure from Quebec — Attachment of the people — Review of labors in 
Quebec — Inquest on a disinterred woman — A drunkard's death — Facts 

— The Vermont legislator's argument — An incident at a temperance lecture 

— St. Ann's — A scene of beauty — An accident — A drunken companion — 
Another accident — Three Rivers — An aged minister — Anecdote of Wes 
ley — A hazardous ride — Arrival at Montreal — The power of God — A 
\iouse of mourning — A backslider's reformation — The fire — Person burned 
to death — An awful event — The backslider's end — St. John's — Review 
of labors in Montreal — A liberal offer declined — Restitution preached — 
Effects — The conscientious barber — The bank note — The clerk and the 
false entry — Mr. Caughey in New York — Summary of results — Five hun- 
dred evidences of the reality of his impressions, 69 



CONTENTS. Xiu 

CHAPTER VIII. 

HALIFAX, AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

Editorial remarks — Mr. Caughey at Halifax — His visit to Prcvidence Path 

— Strength of the impression — The trip from Whitehall to Burlington — 
Arrival at Quebec — Conscientious scruples — The profitable detention — 
The falls of Montmorency — The Natural steps — The plains of Abraham — 
Quebec defences — Anecdote of a boy — Visit to the Indians — A Canadian 
thunder storm — Reflections — Arrival at Halifax — Detention — The voyage 
from Quebec to Halifax described — The gift of Christian affection — The 
river St. Lawrence — The gulf — A wreck — The drunken soldiers — Pas- 
sengers — Anecdote — The mirage — Prince Edward's Island — Pictou — A 
ride — Kind attentions — A home — The lady's apology — The Theatre 
Royal temperance meeting described — Prince William's lodge — Ruins 

— The people of God in Halifax— Temperance meeting —-Anecdote, 85 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

Introductory remarks — Review of labors in Halifax — A bleak morning — A 
storm — Its uses — Amusing description of life on shipboard in a storm — 
Conversation with a sceptic — The sceptic confounded — An incident — A 
Sabbath at sea — The sermon — The restless sea — Land — Arrival at Liv 
erpool, 109 

CHAPTER X. 

THE DENOUEMENT. 

Editorial remarks — Mr. Caughey's sense of loneliness — Trials — Transparen- 
cy of his character — Visits Manchester — Dr. Bunting's sermon — Mr. Mc- 
Lean — Reflections — Robert Newton — Introduction to the conference — 
The voyage to Dublin — Depression — New acquaintances — Invitation to 
preach — The first sermon in Dublin — Surprise — Presence of the Spirit — 
Four weeks in Dublin — Converts — Temptations — Comforts — Abasements 

— Rev. T. Waugh — More temptation — Their narration valuable — Resist- 
ance to Satan — Death of a class-leader — A weeping congregation — A sea- 
son of power — The last public labors of a good man — Hopes of heaven — 
The room where Summerfield was converted — An awful time — A remark- 
able conversion in answer to prayer — A visit to Dublin Castle — O'Connell 

— A crowd — Methodist chapels in Dublin — A watch-night — Farewell ser 
mon— Intense excitement — Results of his labors in Dublin — Letter of R 
Craig, Esq., on the Dublin revival, -121 

CHAPTER XI. 

TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

Editorial remarks — Journey to Limerick — First success — A letter from 
Dublin containing a beautiful illustration of divine mercy — A walk on the 
banks of the Shannon — A hurricane — A fearful explosion — Reflections — 



XIV CONTENTS. 

A refreshing season — A hymn — The flag — Work of God in Limerick — 
A powerful conversion — The circular — Historical sketch of Limerick — 
Kuins of the old wall — A spiritual siege ■— An ancient cathedral — A curi 
ous inscription — An old Methodist chapel — Extract from Wesley — Places 
of worship in Limerick — Reflections on high church notions — Aspect of 
the city — The people of Limerick — Visiting from house to house — Revival 
fruits — Leaves Limerick for Cork — The work in Limerick — Public break- 
fast in Limerick — A testimonial of affection — The watch — Mr. Mathews's 
address — Acquaintances in Limerick, 148 

CHAPTER XII. 

VISIT TO CORK. 

Editorial remarks — Prayer for the city — Opening sermons — The praying 
man tempted — The chapel in Cork described — A touching scene — The 
discharged soldier — His arrival home — The vow of self-dedication — Its 
glorious consequences — The leaders' meeting — The small class — The se 
cret of a class-leader's success — The local preacher rebuked — How to keep 
penitent sinners from falling back — Six reasons for giving them no rest— 
A private watch-night — The revival in Cork — Extract — Description of 
Cork — Irish hospitality at Hayfield — Communion with God — Revival — 
Public buildings in Cork — Population — The tomb of Boardman — Board 
man's American labors — His death — His epitaph — A remarkable incident 
in his life — A visit to Blarney Castle — Blarney Stone, and its legend 
The revival in Cork, 171 



CHAPTER XIII. 

EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS IN CORK AND BANDON. 

t jtate of the work in Cork — Young converts — A mistake — Intended visit to 
Bandon — Temperance labors in Cork — Necessity of action on temperance 

— Must not be made a hobby — Mr. Caughey is visited by Father Mathew 

— Remarks on Mr. M. — Commencement of revival labors in Bandon — 
Discouragements — Remarkable instance of restitution — A still more strik- 
ing case — Temptation — The work in Bandon — Free communings with a 
friend — Mental struggles — The rage of devils follows faithful ministers — 
Lu ther to Melancthon — Calumny and detraction — Deceptive friendships 

— Misanthropy — Professional friendship — A lesson in an incident — Rela- 
tion of living near to God and cheerfulness — Trouble needful — Tempera- 
ment — The clock — Waiting for God — The conflict in Bandon — Accident 
and detention — Anxiety — Close of his labors in Ireland* . . 194 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

Editorial remarks — Departure from Cork — View of the coast of Ireland — 
The Ocean Storm, a poem — The captive bird — The incident spiritualized 

— Lands at Liverpool — Providential openings — Mental struggles — Hi* 






CONTENTS. XV 

oomniission opened — Powerful prayer meeting — Special meetings begun 
— Young converts — Temptation and prayer — A stranger and his dream — 
Friends and foes — The deputation — Four sinners crying for mercy — 
Hoarseness — The watch-night — Kenewal of the covenant — Twelve sinners 
converted — Success and tribulation — Humility, . . . . 218 

CHAPTER XV. 

ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OP REVIVALS. 

Objections to revival efforts stated and answered — Valuable idea of a de 
ceased minister — Sinners need feeling, not light — Further objections con 
sidered — The state of Christian congregations described — How to reach 
them — Objection to earnest preaching answered — The archer — How to 
aid the minister — Objection to sharp and pointed language in the pulpit 
considered — Terror objected to — The earthquake nights — Judgment and 
passions must be both reached — The minister is the best judge of the peo- 
ple's state — The wicked physician — How he was saved — The aged minis- 
ter and the young sinner — Stern and soft preaching — Poetical extract — 
Feeling must be appealed to — The irregular apple-tree — Controversy de- 
clined — The work in Liverpool — Prejudice — Opposition to revivals uni- 
versal — The unconverted lawyer — A classical story — The old saint's 
prayer and the sinner's protest — Blasphemy charged on revival preaching 

— Theology studied in hell — The duke of Saxony and the praying bishop 

— The trooper and the minister — Foelings of a lady, . . . 232 

CHAPTER XVI. 

INQUIRIES, ANECDOTE*, AND CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

On describing character — Anecdote — Personalities — Anecdote — Vulgarity 

— Anecdotes — A sinner's mistake — The merchant's portrait — A lady's 
anger — A ludicrous fact — The offended sinner urged to yield to God — A 
searching preacher — An objection — Saying of Eupolis — God warns before 
he strikes — Powerful appeals — Various inquiries answered — The secret 
of success — An old divine quoted — Progress of the work in Liverpool — 
The poor man and his prayer — The Welsh Methodists — Display of divine 
power — The Welsh minister's prayer — Meetings in Brunswick chapel — 
Opinions of the revival — Faithful minister — Results — Temperance lee 
tures in Liverpool — Case of a nervous person — Lord Nelson and the world 

— Confessions of a worldling — Mr. Wesley on nervousness — Amusements 
— Exercise — Sin of idleness — Closing scenes in Liverpool — Missionary 
meetings — Wesleyan chapels in Liverpool — An accomplished organist — 
Results in Liverpool — The tea-meeting — Closing addresses — Pleasant 
homes, , 258 

CHAPTER XVII. 

GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

Arrival at Leeds — Greetings — Meetings in Oxford Street chapel— Results- 
Plans — St. Peter's chapel — Great success — The Old chapel — Anecdote 



XVI CONTENTS. 

by Charles Wesley — Reminiscences of the old Leeds chapel — Boardman 
and Pilmoor — Mr. Asbury's labors — His journal — The band-meeting — 
Sanctifying power — Eelation of pulpit to sanctiflcation — Wesley chapel — 
Rev. J. Everett — Souls saved — Opinion of a person who denounced the 
ehurch — Beauty of holiness — Hope — The work in Leeds — Its subjects — 
Brunswick chapel — Success — Classification of the subjects of the work — 
Results in Brunswick chapel — Hospitality — Oxford Place chapel — Con- 
versions, 280 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE OFFENDED HEAEEK. 

The offended hearer — The artist and the portrait — Various insinuations an- 
swered — Painted fire — The review — Describing character — Skill needful 

— A threat — Anecdote — The gospel mirror — Anecdote — The western 
blacksmith — The Irish laborer — A difference — Cautions — Extract — The 
wilful philosopher — Hell enough in this fife — Hell the centre of gravity to 
a sinner — The wrath of man — Good wishes — Chinese painters — Invita 
tions — Sign of an awakened mind — Chance — Apelles — Turning to God 

— A mistake corrected — Saying of Origen — Skill of an ancient general — 
Too late — Anecdote, 295 

CHAPTER XIX. 

RAMBLES. AROUND LEEDS. 

Visit to Cross Hall — Reminiscences — Mrs. Fletcher's trials of faith — Batley 
church — John Nelson's tomb — His study — Sammy Hicks's home — Sam- 
my's daughter — The old clock — Sammy's anvil and shop — Further labors 
in Leeds — Large audiences — Vocal power — The people of Leeds and their 
ministers — Great results — St. Peter's chapel — Large fruit — The poor — 
Noisy meetings — Woodhouse Moor — Farewell sermons — Converts — Their 
classification — Unconverted persons in the church — A contrast — English 
travellers in America — Injustice — Why unconverted persons are in a 
church — Influence of revivals — Ministerial neglect — Perpetual revival 
possible — Methodism is revivalism — An anti-revival Methodist a phenom 
enon — Like people like priest — Official members — A church reminiscence 

— Astonishing revival — Extract — Entire sanctiflcation in Leeds — Con- 
cluding remarks, 311 

CHAPTER XX. 

GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

Opening efforts in Hull — A sore trial — Humblings of soul — Rev. William 
Illingworth — Encouragement — Gehazi and his master's staff — The Holy 
Spirit — Prayer succeeded by power — An army of saved souls — Kingston 
chapel — Fears — A watchword — A victory — Co-laborers — Hull west 
circuit — Offended hearers — An effectual sermon — Literary labors — Re- 
vivals his great object — The revival spreads — Large congregations — An 
awful season — A pentecost — Sinners flying before God's power — Sr.ch 






CONTENTS. XV11 

manifestations rare — Cases of conversion in Hull — The aged backslider 
and his dream — An affecting letter describing tbe remarkable conversion 
of an infidel — A deeply affecting death — Another letter describing a hap- 
py death — Converts' meeting in Hull — Sanctification — Cases of restitution 

— Hostility to Mr. C's labors — Letter from Bishop Hedding — Great 
Thornton Street chapel — The tempted old man — English homes — English 
hoarfrost, 332 

CHAPTER XXI. 

SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

Work of God increases in Hull — Hull newspapers oppose the work — Impu 
dent letters — Saying of a judge — The terror of sinners — Silent prayer — 
A spiritual tempest in Great Thornton Street chapel — An affecting letter — 
A painful but triumphant death — Sanctification — The secret joy — Birth 
'nonth — Private watch-night — Advance of the revival — Four hundred new 
converts- Temperance lecture — The conscience -stricken Quaker — Great 
excitement — Use of wine needless — Moral power of tee-totalism — King- 
ston chapel — A majestic scene — Closing scenes in Hull — Crowded houses 
—Extent of the revival — Twenty-three hundred converts — Hull ministers 
—Hospitality — A flying visit to Leeds — Triumphant death of an old friend 

— Remarkable dream — False reports contradicted — A delightful Sabbath 
—Return to Hull — A spiritual child — Visit to Welton Vale — Letter from 
Hull, 357 

CHAPTER XXII. 

DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

Brief visit to Huddersfield — Sheffield labors begun — A godly noise — Cour- 
ageous leaders — Reaction — Return of energy — An Ebenezer indeed — 
Report of the revival — Approving letter from Hull — Dr. Adler — Grandeur 
of the Sheffield revival — Great results in Carver Street chapel — Brunswick 
chapel — A backslider's agony — A young man awakened through a dream 

— Restitution — Confessions — Roman Catholic frightened — Crowded tem- 
perance lecture — Marvellous excitement — Extraordinary effusion of the 
Spirit — The poet Montgomery dines with Mr. Caughey — Rain in answer 
to prayer— Change of residence — Trip to Norton— Shirley House — Suc- 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 

Converts' meeting at Brunswick chapel — Wonderful character of the revival 
— Norfolk Street chapel — Great work of sanctification — Revival in a Sun- 
day school — Closing labors in Sheffield — Meeting with the leaders — Per- 
manency of the Sheffield revival, 408 



XVI 11 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE XXIV.: 

CLOSE OF $IB. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

Mr. Caughey's second tour on the continent — Return to England — Hudders- 
field — The converted dummy — Eepose — York revival — Various revivals 
noticed — Birmingham — Nottingham — Lincoln — Sunderland — Gateshead 
— Scarborough — Various places visited — Intention to return to America 
— Review of his labors in England, 418 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE VOYAGE HOME. 

Incidents of the voyage — Arrival in New York — Visit to Bishop Hedding — 
Subsequent labors, 429 



APPENDIX, 



CHAPTER I. 

THE INTRODUCTORY. 

The Experiences of human life, are God's teachers. He 
employs them to instruct the ignorant, to warn the unwary, 
to guide the inquiring, to give a visible and practical en- 
forcement to the precepts of revelation. Hence the miseries 
of the vicious, teach the fearful nature of sin. The serenity 
and comfort of a true Christian, exhibit the reality and power 
of faith in Christ. The achievements of individual minds, 
also, teach us what vast powers lie hid in the human soul : 
they urge the observer to action. Well and beautifully is 
this thought expressed in Longfellow's admirable " Psalm of 
Life: ,, — 

" Lives of great men, all remind us, 

We can make our lives sublime ; 
And, departing, leave behind us, 

Foot prints on the sands of time. 

Foot-prints, that perhaps another, 

Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 

Seeing, shall take heart again." 

If these remarks are truths, then he who turns away his 
mind from the study of a great fact, is a sinner. Lessons 
may be written upon it, influences may be deposited within 
it, which, if studied and felt, would change the whole current 
of his being. A wilful blindness to its teachings, may prove 

9 



10 THE INTRODUCTORY. 

the sealing of his eyes in perpetual darkness. Every great 
fact, therefore, and especially every great religious fact, 
should be studied well and thoroughly by every man who 
wishes to do his duty. 

It will be admitted, that the conversion op twenty 
thousand souls in about six years, chiefly under the la- 
bors of one man, is a great religious fact ! It is more than 
great ! It is marvellous, startling, sublime ! It is eminently 
suggestive, too. It prompts the questions : How was it done ? 
What were its processes? May other men be equally 
successful ? 

Who can turn aside from such a fact as this ? It is a 
sublimer object than the burning bush, whose mystic, uncon- 
suming fire held the outlawed shepherd in such wrapt atten- 
tion. That was God in an unconscious tree ; this exhibits 
Him working " miracles of love " through a conscious, willing 
agent ! Where is the Christian heart that can refuse to be- 
hold, to admire, to examine it ? Where is the minister of 
Jesus who can hear it mentioned, and be unmoved ? Impos- 
sible ! If the spirit of Christ be in us, we must desire to trace 
the workings of God's hand in this majestic fact. How did 
God prepare the instrument ? How did Providence 
prepare the way, and open so effectual a door for the ap- 
pointed laborer ? And what encouragement does the won- 
derful success of the instrument in producing this fact, afford 
to other ministers ? May they hope for like victories through 
their own labors ? The following pages will solve these vital 
and interesting questions. 

The man who has been the successful laborer in the con- 
version of this vast multitude of souls, is the Rev. James 
Caughey, a native of Ireland. He came to this country in 
his youth, and was converted to God some nineteen years 
since. Two years after his conversion, he joined the Troy 



THE INTRODUCTORY. 11 

Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
was ordained a Deacon in 1834. At first he was not distin- 
guished for usefulness above many of his brethren ; but sub- 
sequently he became the subject of some very extraordinary 
spiritual exercises ; which, being submitted to in the sim- 
plicity and docility of a child-like spirit, resulted in a visit of 
some six years to the British Islands. It was while on this 
visit that the magnificent array of twenty thousand con- 
verts rose up around him to hail him as their spiritual father ; 
and to attest the genuineness and divinity of his previous 
spiritual exercises. 

Mr. Caughey is a self-educated man. He has been an 
extensive reader, and his mind is richly stored with the 
best thoughts of the best English writers. He possesses 
a remarkably vivid imagination, which, in its ardent nights, 
sometimes, though not often, soars into the suburbs of fanci- 
ful regions. His perceptive faculties are superior, his rea- 
soning powers good, though not logical in the highest sense. 
His memory is both retentive and ready ; hence he has a 
large treasury of ideas at command. His mind possesses 
great force ; his manner is earnest and persuasive ; his ges- 
ticulation natural. His voice possesses remarkable compass ; 
if not richly musical, it is very pleasant, and the more it is 
heard the more it charms. His discourses bear the mark of 
originality. It is true they often flash with the intellectual 
jewels of great writers, but these are faithfully acknowl- 
edged ; and his sermons, both in thought and structure, are 
manifestly the offsprings of his own mind. 

Such is the man whose marvellous movements form the 
topic of these pages. Nature had raised him above medi- 
ocrity, but she had not endowed him with the highest gifts of 
genius. The church has many ministers of larger powers, 
more highly cultivated, better read and of higher intellectual 



12 THE INTRODUCTORY. 

rank, but whose successes in God's work will not bear com- 
parison with those of Mr. Caughey. Whence, then, has his 
superior power proceeded ? Why has he won such victories in 
the church of God ? We must leave this question unsolved, 
or attribute his surprising victories to the Holy Spirit, who 
finds his instruments among the herdmen of Tekoa, or at the 
feet of Gamaliel, as his sovereign wisdom may decide. To 
this source Mr. Caughey himself ascribes the glory of his 
fruitfulness. We do the same, and invite the reader to the 
pleasant work of tracing the influence of the Holy Spirit 
in fitting Mr. Caughey for the work, and assisting him in its 
performance. Surely God will bless this book to every read- 
er's soul ; for its aim is to exhibit the glory of God shining 
through the instrumentality of man — to show the church of 
God, in her ministry and membership, how she may indeed 
shine as the light op the world — the spiritual Pharos 
of mankind ! 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ANOINTING. 

Christ received a baptism of the Spirit on the banks of 
the Jordan, before entering on his mission. The apostles had 
their Pentecost. Paul had his spiritual refreshing in the 
house of Ananias. Luther's Pentecost was received in his 
monastic cell. Mr. Wesley received his in the Moravian 
prayer meeting ; and in some place or other, all eminently 
useful men have their Pentecosts. A marked spiritual exercise 
precedes their successes ; an exercise which forms an epoch 
in their history. 

Mr. Caughey had such a baptism in the earlier years of 
his ministry. It was marked by this feature : his theory con- 
cerning the necessity of the help of the Holy Spirit in 
preaching, became a conviction — a stern, living conviction. 
His account of this epoch is characteristically described in 
one of his letters. He says : 

From the hour I read the following striking remarks of 
Dr. Adam Clarke, a few months previous to my ordination, I 
have never varied a hair-breadth from the great truth they 
advocate. I can only quote from memory, as the page 
which first presented them to my eye is many thousands of 
miles from me, and I cannot turn to the place in his Works 
where they stand recorded ; but they differ little from the 
following : " But all this spiritual and rational preaching will 
2 13 



14 THE ANOINTING. 

be of no avail, unless another means of God's own choosing 
be superadded to give it an effect — the light and influence of 
the Holy Spirit. That Spirit of life and fire penetrates, in 
a moment, the sinner's heart, and drags out to the view of 
Ins conscience those innumerable crimes which lie concealed 
there under successive layers of deep and thick darkness, 
when, under that luminous burning agency, he is compelled 
to cry, 6 Cfod have mercy upon me a sinner 1 9 i Save, Lord, 
or I perish/ 9 'Heal my soul, for it hath sinned against 
thee?" 

I shall have eternal cause of thankfulness that the above 
sentiments ever came under my notice. If my ministry has 
been rendered a blessing to many, that blessing has been 
vouchsafed through the merits of Christ, to a steady recog- 
nition of the necessity of the influence of the Holy Spirit. 
On the evening of that never-to-be-forgotten day in which I 
read the above, I took up my pen, in secret, before God, and 
gave vent to the emotions of my deeply-impressed heart, in 
language something like the following : I see, I feel now as 
I have never done before upon this particular subject. From 
the convictions of this hour, I hope, by the grace of God, nev- 
er to vary. I see, I feel, — 

1st. The absolute necessity of the immediate influence of 
the Holy Ghost to impart point, power, efficacy, and success 
to a preached gospel. 

2d. The absolute necessity of praying more frequently, 
more fervently, more perseveringly, and more believingly, for 
the aid of the Holy Spirit in my ministry. 

3d. That my labors must be powerless, and comfortless, 
and valueless, without this aid; a cloud without water, a 
tree without fruit, dead and rootless ; a sound uncertain, 
unctionless, and meaningless ; such will be the character of my 
ministry. It is the Spirit of God alone which imparts 



THE ANOINTING. 15 

significancy and power to the word preached, without which, 
as one has expressed it, " all the threatenings of the Bible 
will be no more than thunder to the deaf, or lightning to the 
blind." A seal requires weight, a hand upon it, in order to 
an impression. The soul of the penitent sinner is the wax ; 
gospel truth is the seal ; but, without the Almighty hand of 
the Holy Ghost, that seal is powerless. A bullet demands 
its powder, without which it is as harmless as any other body. 
The careless sinner is the mark ; truth is the ball that must 
pierce him ; but it cannot reach, much less penetrate him, 
separate from this influence from heaven. In apostolic times, 
they 'preached the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down 
from heaven. 1 Peter, i. 12. In our day we need an energy 
from no lower source, to overturn the wickedness of the vile 
and profane, and to counteract the formality and worldliness 
which are every where visible. 

4th. I am now fully persuaded, that in proportion as the 
Spirit of God shall condescend to second my efforts in the 
gospel message, I shall be successful; nor need I expect 
any success beyond. No man has ever been signally useful 
in winning souls to Christ, without the help of the Spirit. 
With it, the humblest talent may astonish earth and hell, 
by gathering into the path of life thousands for the skies ; 
while without it, the finest, the most splendid talents remain 
comparatively useless. 

5th. The entire glory of all my success shall henceforth 
be given to the Holy Spirit. By this I shall conscientiously 
abide, as by any other principle of our holy religion. It is 
written : " They that honor me, I will honor" To this 
may be added, that righteous, inalienable, and unchanging 
determination of Jehovah: "My glory I will not give to 
another." 

These truly scriptural purposes were graven on Mr. 



16 THE ANOINTING. 

Caughey's heart as with the finger of God. The conviction of 
dependence became henceforth interwoven with his thoughts 
and feelings. Several years after, when he was sailing on 
the full tide of glorious success, he exclaimed, speaking of 
himself as an instrument : 

Amazing goodness, that it should be so owned of God ! 
I know the reason ! It is because there is a distinct under 
standing between my poor soul and Heaven, that no portion 
of the glory of such a work is to be appropriated by me, either 
to myself or others ; that I am to feel as deeply humbled 
before God when thousands are converted under my ministry, 
as when only one sinner has been converted. He knows I 
would rather die than vary, for a moment, from first prind 
pies ; I mean those views of the necessity of the Holy 
Spirit, which I noted down as the convictions of my heart, 
after reading that sentiment of Dr. Clarke. That eminent 
servant of God little thought, that this passage, of all the 
multitudinous writings which emanated from his pen, should 
be rendered such a blessing, So true is that stirring saying 
of holy writ: " In the morning sow thy seed, and in the 
evening withhold not thine hand ; for thou hnowest not 
whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they 
both shall be alike good." He little imagined, when pen- 
ning those words, that they should be wafted across the At- 
lantic ocean, and fall like heaven's own fire upon the under- 
standing and heart of a young and ardent spirit at the foot 
of the Green Mountains, in North America ; that, at an 
important and perilous period of a youthful ministry, these 
words of light, life, and fire, should arrive, should interweave 
themselves with the whole texture of his "thinkings," be- 
come one with his very being, and the secret spring of his 
motions ; motions which, though somewhat eccentric in the 
estimation of some, have resulted in the conversion of many 



THE ANOINTING. 17 

thousands of sinners to God. And then, that this youth, 
having sprung into manhood, should cross the "raging seas," 
in the noon of his usefuhaess, and pay back, to Ireland first, 
and then to England, a sort of interest for the use of that 
invaluable capital transferred to the American shores ; and 
all to the glory of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by 
the power of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah ! " Great and 
marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty : just and true 
are thy ways, thou hing of saints. Who shall not fear 
thee, Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art 
holy : for all nations shall come and worship before thee 9 
for thy judgments are made manifest" Rev. xv. 3, 4. 

The experience described in this chapter, may be consid 
ered as the beginning of the Spirit's work in preparing Mr, 
Caughey to be a special instrument of salvation to thou- 
sands. He might have resisted that anointing. He might 
have rested satisfied with a sound theory, instead of steeping 
his soul in the truth, until it so filled him that he learned 
as by instinct to lay all the glory of his labors at the foot- 
stool of the eternal God. The next chapter will show the 
further work of the Spirit on his heart. 



2* 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 

The heart in which God works, must sympathise with the 
divine mind with all its emotions, energies and powers. It 
must do for itself all that human strength may do ; for God 
never does that even for his most favored instruments, which 
they can do for themselves. The following letter to one of 
his friends, contains a simple and touching account of the 
manner in which Mr. Caughey labored to make himself a 
" Workman that needeth not to be ashamed," and will forci- 
bly illustrate these remarks. 

My dear Brother:- — I was once in the very position 
you describe. The church over which God had placed me, 
had long been unvisited by an extensive revival. My soul 
became more deeply concerned than usual for the conversion 
of sinners ; and I was led to pray most earnestly for a re- 
vival. I began a series of meetings, in the month of De- 
cember, first in one private house, and then in another. I 
preached every night, and held a prayer-meeting afterwards ; 
but we never got the matter fairly before the public ; only a 
few attended, and the special effort was a complete failure. 
The meetings dwindled down to nothing, and we gave them 
up with as good a grace as we could, and returned to the ordi- 
nary means. But, you will inquire, " "Why such a defeat ? " 
Weakness of faith, and distrust in God, were perhaps the 
18 



THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 19 

chief causes. We missed our way, by not lighting up the 
chapel at once. We endeavoured to take hold of the popu- 
lation by means of these little meetings in various parts of 
the town, and failed to make a sufficient impression upon the 
public mind. Sinners cared nothing for us and our paltry 
movements; there was no expectation raised, no curiosity 
excited ; we were down, nor could we recover ourselves ; and 
so the effort was abandoned. " But why did you take such 
a course ? Why then did you not open the chapel ? " 
There were several reasons: 1st. We could not obtain the proper 
preachers to assist in such an arduous undertaking. They 
were all engaged in vigorous efforts for souls, in " protracted 
meetings" on their own circuits. 2d. I had at that time a 
very small stock of sermons that were any way suitable for 
a revival. Unhappily, I had spent much of my time upon 
speculative divinity ; in composing sermons, fifteen thousand 
of which would not, it is probable, have brought one sinner to 
God. The truths embodied in them, were not at all calcu- 
lated to bring about an instantaneous revival. The few ser- 
mons likely to make an impression, had been exhausted in 
the ordinary services. 3d. I concluded that, in these pri- 
vate meetings, some good might be done by taking up new 
texts of a revival tendency, and preaching as I best could. 
But not having at command the proper materials for the 
illustration of truth, nor those arguments which are best adap- 
ted to awaken sinners, and excite public attention, I could 
only dwell upon the dry materials of theology, and so I was 
as one beating the air. 4th. Aware of my deficiencies, 
pride or prudence suggested the impropriety of my attempt- 
ing to preach every night in the chapel, where a failure 
might be attended by a serious reaction. 

But the same difficulties accompanied me, of course, to 
the meetings in the private dwellings. I knew my want of 



20 THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 

preparation for so many sermons, and, though it should not 
have effected me, (for my trust ought to have been in God,) 
yet it weakened my faith, and I had no courage. The pray- 
ing men caught my spirit also ; thus, instead of being able 
+o fight a battle manfully for God, during several weeks I 
could only stand a few skirmishes, and the devil and sin 
were victorious. 

Here I received a lesson never to be forgotten. I now 
saw the necessity of turning my attention to that style 
of preaching which would be likely, by the aid of the Holy 
Ghost, to awaken sinners, and bring penitents to God. Re- 
vival artillery, I resolved to have. I fasted and prayed, and 
searched the Scriptures. My reading, thinking, conversation, 
and all my observations, were laid under contribution to one 
end ; — preparation for soul-saving, which I now perceived to 
be the main end of the gospel ministry. My little stock of 
sermons suitable for a revival, increased rapidly. When a 
text presented itself as suitable for a revival, my cry was, 
" Lord God, open the eyes of my understanding ; give me 
a clear perception of thy meaning in this passage. " A fore- 
noon was generally spent upon my knees, pleading for divis- 
ions and sub-divisions, sometimes a simple proposition was pre- 
sented. Having completed my "skeleton" I returned to 
my knees, and pleaded for an introduction, and that flesh and 
sinews might come upon these dry bones. And the pleading 
was not in vain ; thoughts of a moving character came into 
my mind in troops. Having finished the rough outline, it was 
folded up till next day. On the morrow, I returned to 
my knees, read the subject over, expunged such extraneous 
and superfluous matter as only tended to load the memory 
and encumber the subject, but retained all that had point, 
and was likely to do execution among sinners. The holy 
Scriptures were then called in, to prove or illustrate the 



THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 21 

sentiments ; commentators were referred to ; and lastly, 
my private Journal and Common-Place Book. It is proper 
to remark, that I had long attended to that advice given 
by an aged American minister, to a young preacher: 
" This I would advise you, wherever you, in any reading, meet 
with a curious illustration, prize it, seize it, enter it in papers 
where you may design a lodging for such inestimable jewels. 
Like Hezekiah, have your treasures for precious stones ; and 
let these be such unto you. Get such an amassment of them, 
that among them you may be like the king of Tyrus, and 
walk up and down in the midst of the stones of fire,' when 
you are upon the holy mountain of God. One of these may 
be like an ingot of gold, and a whole discourse may be ren- 
dered acceptable by having such a jewel studded in it." 
After walking thus in the mount with God, among my jewels 
and stones of fire , some original, others by right of conquest, 
and collecting such as were calculated to move an assembly, 
— supposing I could do nothing more with them at 
present, the written outline was brought to the footstool of 
God, thus : " Lord God of hosts, God of the armies of 
Israel, and Head of the Church, I ask thy acceptance of 
my body, soul, and spirit, and of this my humble offering, — 
this outline of a sermon, which I now present to Thee. Foi 
give all that may be wrong in it, or which savors of human 
innrmity ; and grant that, wherever and whenever it shall be 
preached, the power of the Holy Ghost may attend it to the 
hearts of sinners and believers. Grant that I may obtain, 
by its instrumentality, thousands of souls to my ministry, 
from the ranks of wickedness, through Jesus Christ my Lord ! 
For this, and the pardon of all my sins, and the purification 
of my nature, I offer the atonement of the Saviour. I trust 
in the blood of Jesus Christ thy Son ; I cast myself upon it 
by faith, and upon the veracity of Christ Jesus in that prom- 



99 



THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 



ise : 6 What things soever you desire when ye pray, believe 
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.' I have de- 
sired these things, I have prayed for them, and I do receive 
what I have asked, agreeably to thy will." 

The sermon was then placed among kindred subjects, and 
carefully put away, under the label — revival ; and I held 
myself in readiness to take up another text, in a similar 
manner. 

But you will inquire : " Did you not preach them imme- 
diately to your people ? " Sometimes I did so, but not always ; 
nor could I, the ordinary services being so few. I consid- 
ered myself only in preparation for a campaign ; that I was 
just getting my ammunition and engines of war in readiness 
for a great battle. The following Conference recalled me 
from the town alluded to, and sent me to another field of 
labour. After my arrival, I endeavoured to get the church 
into a prepared state for a revival ; and proceeded with in- 
creased activity in the accumulation of " munitions of war." 
As the time approached, when we were about to enter upon 
an extraordinary conflict with the powers of darkness, I en- 
deavoured to secure ministerial help, but, in case of a failure 
in that quarter, had my own artillery ready. I had faith in 
God and good courage, because faith had been exercising 
itself for several months in active preparation for the holy 
war. Cromwell said to his soldiers, on the battle-field, 
"Trust in the Lord, and rely upon your pikes!" and, on 
another occasion, " Trust in the Lord, and keep your powder 
dry ! " But had they had neither pikes nor powder, their trust 
in God would not have been very firm. In my last skir- 
mishes with the devil and his children, I had a feeble trust in 
God, but had neither pikes nor powder ; you know what I 
mean, and I have told you the results. On the eve of this 
battle, glory be to God ! I had both pikes and powder. I 



THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 23 

trusted in God, however, knowing that both were useless, if 
not attended by an influence from heaven ; and when fully 
in the engagement, the weapons were wielded with such an 
energy as if every thing had depended upon human might. 

The people of God were fully aware of the difficulties in 
the way of a revival ; but they were all of one heart and 
soul, and joined together as an impenetrable phalanx. The 
respective officers put on the heavenly armour of faith, and 
hope, and love. The intended conflict was talked of in every 
direction, and all was expectation in the town. 

The time arrived ; the house of God was thrown open, and 
hostilities commenced. Many people thronged there to wit-_ 
ness the conflict. The weapons of our warfare were not 
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down strong 
holds, and casting down imaginations, and every high thing 
that exalted itself against the knowledge of Christ. The 
pulpit was the "grand battery," but there were several 
others along the ramparts ; (if you will allow me to continue 
the use of military phraseology, which I employ without 
scruple, as did St. Paul, because it was a real battle between 
mind and mind, light and darkness, truth and error, powers 
divine and diabolical;) and there were no "blank motions," 
no "powder and flash without ball." The execution was 
tremendous. It appeared to some as if the devil had fled, 
and left the field to Zion's sons. If so, he left his troops 
under a "galling fire," and the surrender of some of his 
regiments was exceedingly grand. The battle lasted nine 
weeks ; and the results were glorious. If victory had not 
been ours at the end of that time, we must have had to 
retreat, as my "ammunition" was nearly s exhausted ; but 
this only imparted a fresh impulse to my mind, to lay up 
" mihtary stores " on a larger scale. In addition to this, my 
late experience had enabled me to detect the artillery that 



24 TMK PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 

was weak or unwieldy, and therefore unfit for the service. 
There were weapons, some of whose points were too soft, others 
of a harder temperament than they should have been ; and 
though they did some execution upon mind, they might have 
accomplished much more, had they been of better metal, 
kindlier temper, and keener edge. To remedy these defects, 
and get ready for another campaign, was my happy employ- 
ment during the intervals of my pastoral duties. 

In the meantime, the new converts received close attention , 
were appointed to classes ; new classes were formed, and 
every possible means used, by visiting them daily at their 
own houses, and by affectionate pulpit discourses, to confirm 
and establish them in the practice of true piety. Books 
were placed in their hands for the improvement of their 
minds ; and the absence of any one of them from class, was 
a subject of immediate inquiry. Thus the reaction talked 
of by some was avoided ; we had, in fact, nothing of the 
kind. A few went back to the world, I admit, and shortly 
after, a number of the new converts died happy in God, and 
went home to glory ; but a large majority remain to the 
present day, pillars in the church of God, and happy witnesses 
that "Jesus Christ hath power upon earth to forgive sins.' , 

I have now, my dear brother, given you a detailed account 
of my experience in these things. I could enlarge, but it 
is not necessary. If I have been, in some measure, succes- 
ful among my brethen, in winning souls to Christ, the Holy 
Spirit of God has been the original and efficient cause ; and 
to him be all the glory. That he works by means, you will 
readily admit, and, in the above hasty sketch, you have 
seen the progress of my mind in laying hold of that class 
of truths which is calculated, by divine aid, to awaken and 
convert sinners. I could give you an account of many re- 
vivals, in which I have been engaged during past years, and 



THE PREPARATION AND TUB CONFLICT. 25 

farther observations upon the effects of particular and pointed 
truth upon different characters, but time will not permit. 
My mind is quite as much alive as ever to seize upon illus- 
trations in nature, science, and common every-day life, of 
which the world is full, were we only intent upon perceiving 
them. My common-place books and little pocket note-books, 
are always at hand, in which are noted down whatever may 
occur to my thought, in conversation, observation, and reading 
I am fully persuaded, the reason why some preachers are 
averse to what are called "revival movements," is not 
because they have no desire for the conversion of sinners, 
nor from a conviction that God has not called them to bring 
sinners to repentance, for they frequently attempt it; nor 
because they have no talents for such an effort ; but, chiefly, 
for the want of proper pulpit preparations, to begin and 
carry forward a revival. Although they may have a respect- 
able stock of sermons, which procure them a rank, deservedly, 
among the accomplished theologians of the day ; yet, the 
engaging a very few times in preaching would exhaust their 
capital ; and then, to come forward with " long common-place 
sermons," as unfit for producing immediate and beneficial 
effect in a revival, as snow upon a harvest field, would disap- 
point even the expectation of sinners, discourage penitents, 
and weary and unfit believers to enter the prayer meeting 
with life and zeal. A few such dull sermons would soon 
thin the congregation, and leave the preacher to address an 
array of empty seats. Such men have, therefore, no heart 
for such a continued and laborious struggle. "What confi- 
dence could a general have in laying siege to a city, or in 
attempting to take it by storm, knowing that he has neither 
ammunition nor artillery sufficient for such an undertaking ? 
But these, in a spiritual sense, every minister of Jesus must 
have, if he would undertake with proper energy to lay siege 
3 



26 THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 

to and storm a population of sinners. Hence, the preachers 
on whom I have ventured to animadvert, are shy of making 
full proof of their call to the work of the ministry, in this 
way ; and when the matter is pressed home upon the con- 
science of one of these, he usually resorts to the pitiable 
apology, " I have no talent for these revivals. Every man 
has his particular gift. All cannot be revivalists. I must, 
therefore, proceed in my own way." 

Let the inquiry be put to his conscience and understand- 
ing, by a proper person, " But, my brother, what is your 
way ? What are you aiming at in preaching ? Upon what 
principles did you begin to preach at first ? Excuse the in- 
quiry ; what were the secret feelings which prompted you in 
the beginning of your career in the ministry ? If the im- 
mediate conversion of sinners, was not your object, what was 
it ? Why ? for what purpose do you yet enter the pulpit ? 
Is it not to bring sinners to repentance ? But, if you are 
incapable of conducting a prayer meeting, and of kneeling 
down to pray for a penitent sinner, to whom must the church 
of God look ? If you are incapacitated to point a trembling 
sinner to the Lamb of God, and to tell him how to believe, to 
whom must the unhappy soul resort ? Do you say, ' I make 
such things known in the pulpit, and that is the place for the 
performance of my duty V But St. Paul preached Jesus 'from 
house to house,' and ' with many tears ; ' is it, therefore, 
improper to do the same thing in a prayer meeting, under 
circumstances so interesting ?" 

Language more pointed than this might be used, but it is 
well even with this, if he keeps his temper. 

You may depend upon it, you will find in the above hints, 
most of the prominent reasons for the aversion of some men 
to revivals ; and why they discountenance extraordinary 
endeavours for the salvation of sinners. It is upon the samg 



THE PREPARATION AWL IHE CONFLICT. 27 

principles that we may frequently account for those mortify- 
ing failures, when special efforts have been made to bring 
about a revival. 

I cannot close without an allusion to your mental conflicts. 
Have you not read Augustine's advice to a young minister, 
Prepara te ad pressuras f To which a good man added, 
" When a man enters upon the work of preaching the gospel, 
he finds himself speedily, as it were, in the wine-press." It 
is seldom the following sentiments of one now with God, 
have failed to be realized in one way or other in my experi- 
ence : " You will hardly ever be engaged in any special 
service for the kingdom of God, but you will either just 
before it, or after it, meet with some special trouble ; either 
from some failure of your health, or in some storm of 
groundless obloquies among the people ; or, which is worst of 
all, some horrid colaphisations from wicked spirits on your 
mind, strongly filling you with consternations and confusions, 
which, be they ever so unreasonable, yet will be intolerable." 

It is in the latter way, I have hitherto chiefly suffered, 
although I have had my trials from most of the above sources ; 
but the onsets of those cruel and invisible spirits upon my 
mind have often been terrible. The devil has generally 
taken his revenge in this way, when I have been favored with 
any remarkable success in the work of the ministry. These 
conflicts have often been very severe just before some re- 
markable conquest ; and after the revival, he has come 
against me as a roaring lion; but the Lord hath -hitherto 
delivered me, and by such commotions, prepared me for 
greater usefulness, and endued me with a larger measure of 
watchfulness and humility. 

I have often shortened these days of trial, by plunging 
into another revival ; then all has become light, and peace, 
^nd joy. I have therefore, of late years, arranged matters, 



28 THE PREPARATION AND THE CONFLICT. 

so as to step into another effort for a revival, when my vsork 
has concluded in any given place. The devil has been 
baffled for the time, by these rapid movements ; but he has 
still threatened my trembling soul in a manner I cannot 
describe ; suggesting, that, for every instance in which 
he has been foiled in this way, he shall yet have his ven- 
geance, in one concentrated and tremendous storm, which is 
brooding and preparing in the gloomy distance. "But none 
of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto 
myself, if I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry 
I have received of the Lord Jesus." "He that will 
wage war with hell, must suffer hell's rage," has long been 
my motto ; but, if the devil and I must fight, I am deter- 
mined to be the aggressor. I think there is an advantage 
here worth taking ; and we may take it most fairly, as the 
apostle tells us he is wide awake to " get an advantage of 
us!" 

These trials, I admit with you, are "worse than preaching ;" 
and, a succession of them, make a man look older by many 
years than he really is. The people who surrounded our 
Lord, mistook him for being nearly fifty years of age, when 
he was only a little more than thirty. " Thou art not yet 
fifty years old," — this was their nearest guess, — " and hast 
thou seen Abraham ?" John viii. 57. J. c. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE TEST OE REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

Such were the experiences of God's church nearly three 
thousand years ago, that its saints could say, with triumphant 
confidence, " The word of the Lord is tried" — i. e. it has 
been put to the test — it has stood the trial of experi- 
ment. It may, therefore, be relied upon with unshrinking 
certainty. It is this certainty — this unwavering, un- 
yielding, invincible confidence in the faithfulness of God, 
that has sustained Mr. Caughey, that has lain at the base of 
his movements — and inspired his heroic heart, in its conflicts 
with the kingdom of darkness. The following letter, which 
is fired with the energy of its author, is strikingly illustrative 
of him. It reveals him in the battle-field, testing the weapons 
he had furnished and sharpened in the closet. It was written 
to a friend in England, who desired his counsel on the best 
methods of bringing a church into a revival state. After 
stating that the scene of the work was a town in North 
America, Mr. Caughey proceeds to say : — 

Protracted religious services were determined upon, by a 
few choice spirits, who had for some time mourned over the 
desolations of Zion in that town. The time fixed for the 
commencement of hostilities arrived. The conflict began 
with a determination I have seldom seen surpassed. We 
preached the gospel during a succession of evenings, with but 
one single object in view, to bring hardened sinners to 
B* 29 



30 THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

repentance. There were many such in that town ; ungodb 
rnen 5 who had long set the God that made them at defiance ; 
men who violated his law, neglected his worship, despised his 
servants, denied the truths of his Bible, and entertained 
opinions the most degrading and anti-scriptural. Drunken- 
ness, Sabbath-breaking, whoredom, profane swearing, and all 
manner of wickedness, were practised without feeling, fear, 
or remorse. But a few there were who " sighed and cried" 
for all the abominations of the place. " Rivers of water," 
said some, a run down mine eyes, "because men keep not thy 
law." " It is time, Lord, for thee to work, for they have 
made void thy law," was the mournful and interceding 
language of others. The example of some ministers in the 
town was no rule for us. Our duty was plain; — not 
to glance over this moral desolation an eye of careless 
indifference ; nor to be governed in our movements by that 
Cainite sentiment, the principle of which is so prevalent in 
the present day: "Am I my brother's keeper?" We did 
not feel ourselves called to deplore merely the general wick- 
edness around, nor the horrors of that dreadful hell towards 
which that wickedness was carrying this population of sinners, 
but to make vigorous efforts for their rescue. 

Believing the gospel to be Heaven's revealed instrumen- 
tality to bring about an event so desirable, we endeavoured 
to wield its divine truth with all the energy with which 
it had pleased God to endue us. Our efforts were not con- 
fined to the Sabbath, or to one or two evenings in the week, 
but " night and day," throughout the week, not in the 
sanctuary alone, but from house to house ; afternoon and 
night we laboured for God in the chapel ; the forenoons and 
intervals between meetings, we exhorted the people at their 
homes to turn to God. Sinners, however, remained hard 
and obstinate. They seemed, in fact, as if leagued together 



THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 81 

to defeat our object; — not indeed by open and avowed 
hostility, but by keeping themselves away from the house of 
God. The few who ventured into our assemblies, were as 
unmoved as the seats. The " why and wherefore " of all 
this "religious stir and din," seemed to be the predominant 
inquiry upon the features of the visitors. This was just what 
we wanted to see ; and we were determined to have this 
expression become general. "Truth," said one, "fears 
nothing more than inattention. It is too important to be 
treated with indifference. Opposition calls forth and sharp- 
ens the powers of the human mind in its defence. The 
cause of the gospel has ever gained by investigation. Cre- 
dulity is the bane of it." 

Our congregations increased, but the hardness and im- 
penitency of sinners continued. Of one thing I can assure 
you, — the whole counsel of God was delivered. Nothing 
was kept back which we considered profitable to our hearers, 
or essential to the faithful declaration of our message. With 
the sentiment of an elegant writer we heartily concurred : 
" The defensive armour of a shrinking and timid policy, does 
not suit Christianity. Hers is the naked majesty of truth. 
With all the grandeur of age, but with none of its infirmities, 
has she come down to us, and gathered new strength from 
the battles she has won in the many controversies of many 
generations. With such a religion as this, there is nothing 
to hide ; all should be above-board ; and the broadest light 
of day should be made fully and freely to circulate through 
all her services. But secret things she has none. To her 
belong the frankness and the simplicity of conscious great 
ness. And whether she grapple with the pride of philosophy, 
or stand in pointed opposition to the prejudices of the multi- 
tude, she does it upon her own strength, and spurns all the 
props, and all the auxiliaries away from her." 



82 THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

We were not seeking after gain or popularity. We asked 
not the money of our hearers, nor their goods, nor any por- 
tion of them. " It is not for you to be fishing for gudgeons, 
but for towns, forts, and castles," said Cleopatra to Mark 
Antony. Glory be to God! we were not fishing for 
gudgeons, — filthy lucre , or the praise of men — but we had 
laid close siege to the town, its forts and its castles ; every 
strong-hold of Satan. We wielded the same weapons as did 
the apostles. (2 Cor. x. 4. 5.) And as the forts, towers, 
and castles, all the strong-holds of the kingdom of hell, came 
tumbling down, under the mighty and supernatural blows of 
their weapons, we did expect to see the same effects pro- 
duced, ere the battle was ended in which we were now 
engaged. Human applause was as valueless as the dust of 
their streets. Their wrath we dreaded not. Neither men 
nor devils were we afraid of. We expected persecution, but 
we were yet too insignificant. Dogs do not bark at a solitary 
star or two ; but, as old Alciat observes, in his " Emblems]' 
they bark most when the moon is at the full ; perhaps not sa 
much at the moon herself, as at the " strange and dubious 
things,' ' which multiply upon their animal vision. We an 
ticipated that when the little church began to shine forth r 
" bright as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an 
army with banners," in a glorious revival, that it would set 
all the dogs in town barking. 

Again and again, as our congregations increased, the 
gospel of our God and Saviour was proclaimed in all its 
fulness, while the steel of eternal truth was pointed directly 
at the heart of every sinner. The sins of the people were 
clearly and faithfully portrayed in all their horrible deformity. 
There was no daubing with untempered mortar ; no com 
promising of truth ; no beating the air with idle words ; no 
temporizing; no trimming to suit the prejudices of the peo 



THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 38 

pie \ no mincing of truth, a little now and a little again, as the 
people could bear it ; no equivocal, or ambiguous sentences 
or expressions, phrases of "doubtful signification," in order 
to avoid offending delicate ears. Things were called by 
their proper names ; whoredom was named whoredom ; adul- 
tery, fornication, &c, were called such; hell, sin, sinners, 
and the devil, were subjects set before the people m all the 
terror of the one, and the native ugliness of the other. The 
law of God, and the hell of eternity, were set forth with all 
the sanctions of the former, and with all the torments, weep- 
ing, waning, and gnashing of teeth, of the latter. 

While dealing with these sinners, we were perplexed with 
no misgivings respecting the extent of the redeeming plan. 
We knew, to borrow the language of another, that, " as the 
gospel had no limitation as it regarded time, it had nothing 
of the kind when applied to human character." " Jesus 
Christ," we insisted, " by the grace of God tasted death for 
every man ;" "he is the propitiation for our sins, and not 
for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world ; " and 
"by him all that believe are justified from all things, from 
which they could not be justified by the law of Moses ;" 
that so long as a sinner had repentance and faith in his heart, 
we knew not a single crime, or collection of crimes, in the 
whole catalogue of human depravity, that the atoning blood of 
Christ could not wash away ; or that there was any des- 
perado of vice and folly, within the compass of our voice, 
however sunk in the depths of his dark and unnatural 
depravity, who was not welcome to come to Christ, if he 
would. Nor would such a sinner find, that the crimson 
inveteracy of his manifold offences was beyond the 
reach of the peace-speaking and purifying blood of the Son 
of God. We were persuaded that as the justice of God 
sniftered no encroachment by the offers of mercy to the 



34 THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES; 

believing penitent, and as mercy itself is restrained by no 
limitation, there can be no arrest laid upon its offers, arising 
from the shades, and degrees, and varieties, of human sin- 
fulness ; that, allowing the existence of repentance and faith 
within the soul of the sinner, there is no point in the de- 
scending scale of human depravity beyond which it cannot 
go, even " to hell's trembling verge." They were told, that, 
as " for guilt, in its full impenitency, Jesus Christ dyed 
his garments, and waded through an arena of blood, so might 
the most abandoned of the children of iniquity begin a contrite 
movement toward him ; that Jesus Christ would be the last 
person in heaven to spurn them away from purchased mercy, 
purchased by his own most precious blood ; nor would he ever 
close the door of mercy, which had cost him so much to open ; 
that he would never quench the spark of the sinner's desire for 
salvation, nor break the bruised reed, nor overturn the prop 
of hope in Christ, upon which he was invited to rest." But, 
strange as it may appear, a sullen front of resistance was 
still maintained upon the part of sinners. With us the mat>- 
ter was settled, — " Victory or death." Again the hghtnings 
of truth and terror flashed over the congregations. The 
thunders of Sinai reverberated long, loud, and dreadful. 
The place trembled, and the heart and soul of man quaked 
before the presence of the Lord God of hosts. 

We were not trammeled in our efforts by rich and time- 
serving professors ; nor by any who were anxious we should 
obtain or retain the approbation of the wealthy. There was 
no sensation created on the appearance of influential persons 
in the congregation, lest they might take offence, and leave 
the church, possibly to return no more. We were troubled 
with no officials cautioning us against giving offence, with a 
" peradventure, such and such persons will withdraw from 
the church, and withhold hereafter their support/-' The 



THE TEST OE REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 35 

people of God were poor and feeble, and, from various 
causes, had dwindled down to a solitary disheartened few. 
They knew very well if God did not interfere, and vouchsafe 
a revival, their church, in that place, must become extinct. 
The dear people felt their feebleness, but they were loyal at 
heart, and stood by us. Some could do but little, as 
it regarded vocal prayer, but they could weep and 
pray secretly ; not unlike a little girl, of whom I heard 
the Rev. Dr. Beaumont relate the following anecdote, 
in Liverpool : Four children, three brothers and 2 little 
sister, were enjoying a ramble along the banks of a 
river, when one of the boys accidentally fell into the 
water ; just as he was sinking, another little brother 
plunged in for his rescue, and when they were both strug- 
gling in the stream, the other brother reached out his hand, 
and caught the second brother, who was about to sink also ; 
and, by the good providence of God, both found bottom, and 
crawled ashore. When they arrived at home, the glad 
father, who had learned the jeopardy of his children, called 
them around him, and inquired of one, " Well, what did 
you do to save your drowning brother ? " "I plunged into 
the water after him, Sir," was the reply. "And what did 
you do?" he inquired of the next. "I carried him home 
upon my back, Sir." Turning to his little daughter, he 
said, " Well, my dear, and what did you do to save your 
drowning brother?" She replied, "I fell a crying, papa, 
as hard as I was able, all the time." Aye, and perhaps her 
tears and cries prompted her little brothers to these desperate 
and successful efforts for the rescue of their sinking; brother.. 
Be this as it may, we felt ourselves stimulated to " deeds of 
noble daring," by the tears and cries of this precious little 
flock. 

During eight or nine days, sinners were thus battered by 



36 THE TEST OE REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

the artillery of the law, and assailed on every side by the 
offers of the gospel. Every appeal made to their fears was 
followed by another to their hopes. Hell and its horrors, 
sin and its penalties, glared around ; while Calvary and its 
scenes were held forth as pledges of hope and salvation. If 
they wept not, we did, as Christ was set forth, evidently 
crucified before their eyes : — 

" Jesus drinks the bitter cup, 
The wine-press treads alone ; 
Tears the graves and mountains up, 
By his expiring groan. 

Well may heaven be cloth' d in black, 

And solemn sackcloth wear ; 
Jesus' agonies partake, 

The hour of darkness share : 
Mourn th' astonish'd hosts above ; 

Silence saddens all the skies ; 
Kindler of seraphic love, 

The God of angels dies, 



O, my God, he dies for me, 

I feel the mortal smart ! 
See him hanging on the tree, — 

A sight that breaks my heart : 
that all to thee might turn ; 

Sinners, ye may love him too ; 
Look on him ye pierced, and mourn 

For one who bled for you. 



Weep o'er your desire and hope, 
With tears of humblest love :" — 






ut Behold, 9 " we cried, as sin still occupied the ground, 
and sinners still remained hard and unsubdued, "'Behold 
the Lamb of God winch taketh away the sins of the world ! ' 
— see an expiring Saviour ! God is now in Christ recon 
ciling you to himself, not imputing your trespasses unto you. 



THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 37 

4 believe the record true, 

God to you his Son hath given ! 
Ye may now be happy too ; 

Find on earth the life of heaven : 
Live the life of heaven above, 
411 the life of glorious love ! ' 

Plead the merits of his death, sinners ! Behold your 
pardoning God ! He is ready to blot out your transgressions 
as a thick cloud ; your sins and your iniquities will he 
remember no more. Believe, only believe, and yours is the 
right and title to the kingdom of heaven." Think me not 
tedious, my dear brother, nor over particular in descending 
to such a minute detail as to the manner of our address to 
these sinners. It was, indeed, a regular siege, and an 
important one. "We now were making full proof of our minis- 
try, and pushing our tremendous principles to those results 
intended by the Author of them. Hell and heaven were 
perpetually before our eyes. The danger of that eternal 
damnation to which these sinners were every moment exposed, 
absorbed our every thought. We knew no other method by 
which to save them from the perdition that awaited them but 
this ; nor did we want any other. Our triumphant boast 
was, "lam not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is 
the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believeth , 
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek ; " and we were 
determined not to stir from the place till the power of that 
gospel was realized, and acknowledged by angels, devils, and 
men. 

Never, I assure you, did a besieging army bombard a city 
with greater confidence of beholding a surrender, than we 
felt when beleaguering these sinners. Speculations were 
never more rife, outside the walls of a besieged city, as to 
what part of the walls would be likely to give way and cause 
i a breach, than were the speculations among some, as to what 
4 



88 THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

sinner, or what class of sinners, would first break down 
under the truth, and cause a gap in the ranks of sin. Aa 
the crisis approached, our congregations increased ; our all- 
absorbing feelings seemed to pervade the people, but none 
had sufficient courage to brave the gaze of the multitude, 
and separate himself as a stricken sinner. 

Night had succeded to night, and day to day, without any 
conversions. The sword of the Lord appeared to us as if 
blunted against the hardened mass ; the arrows of truth 
rebounded from unity hearts as if they had been shot against 
a stone wall. 

The time of extremity was God's opportunity. Is there 
anything too hard for Jehovah? " Nothing but quite im- 
possible, is hard." " God is terrible out of his holy places," 
says the psalmist. He speaks, and it is done ; he commands, 
and it stands fast. " Pompey boasted," said one, " that with 
one stamp of his foot he could raise all Italy in arms ; but 
God, with one word of his mouth, could raise, not all Italy 
only, but all heaven." He is wonderful in working. He 
humbles human pride, aud secures his own glory, by render- 
ing our plans and efforts useless for a time, and bringing 
about his purposes by the humblest and weakest instrumen- 
tality. One of our company, a minister, in the course of 
his visitations from house to house, thought proper to extend 
his visits of mercy to a blacksmith's s7wp, in which were 
several men at work, most of whom were very wicked ; the 
voice of profane swearing often sounded out from it horribly. 
One of the young men was shoeing a horse when our friend 
entered, and did not observe his approach. He suddenly 
advanced, and whispered sharply in the ear of the busy 
sinner, " You must have your feet shod with the preparation 
of the gospel of peace." The man was taken by surprise, 
as much, perhaps, as if the horse had struck him. Ho 



THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 39 

hastily raised his head, discovered the author of this strange 
salute, dropped it again, muttered something, and fell a 
hammering a nail into the shoe violently. The word was a 
nail fastened in a sure place. The Spirit of God was there, 
and drove it into the sinner's heart. The minister left the 
shop without saying any more. That night the man mingled 
with the crowd who entered the church, and, at the close of 
the sermon presented himself as a distressed and condemned 
sinner, soliciting " prayer and help." A number of others, 
quite as unhappy as himself, were soon by his side, when 
they all raised their cry together, "Lord have mercy!" 
This was the hour of our triumph. Now we witnessed a 
scene which repaid us for all our toil. The young smith, 
with many more, obtained salvation the same evening. 
From that night the work of God went on in majesty and 
power. 

It was now, and from this time, that we saw those great 
truths, which other ministers were contented to preach from 
Sabbath to Sabbath, and from year to year, without behold- 
ing any visible effects, invested with a potency which was, 
indeed, glorious, mighty, and almost irresistible. The 
moment a sinner came within range of its influence, he was 
affected. Many a stout and stubborn adversary was felled 
to the ground, and roared for mercy, as if he was going 
quick into hell. We had evidence before our eyes, the most 
convincing, that if the people of God set their hearts upon 
a revival, and use the proper means, they cannot fail to obtain 
their desire. Their feebleness, in every worldly sense in 
which the term may be used, will be no obstacle. If they 
depend upon the aid of the Holy Ghost, fast and pray, and 
employ every other method authorized in the word of God. 
earth and hell combined cannot hinder a revival. The prayer 
mst prevail : — 



40 THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 

"Like mighty winis and torrents fierce, 
Let it opposers all o'errun, 
And every law of sin reverse." — 

Let the ministers of any particular church trample under 
foot that silly objection, that extraordinary means will throw 
discredit upon the ordinary. Rather let them decide, that 
the former, if successful, must, in the nature of the case, 
confer honour upon the ordinary services. Uncommon efforts, 
justify, to the fullest extent, those endeavours which are 
put forth in the common services of the sanctuary ; but that 
they do impart a significancy and a power to the regular 
services of the future, is now a fact well attested. Let 
them, then, break boldly through, and no more confine them- 
selves to the limits of Sabbath preaching, but take a firm 
stand before the congregation in reference to a revival. The 
doors of the house of God must be thrown open for daily 
and nightly preaching. Let them be simple of heart, and 
aim at one tiling, the conversion of sinners. Ordinary ser- 
mons, however, they must know, will not be suitable for such 
services, unless they desire to preach to empty pews. v Ex- 
traordinary plans and movements will demand an extra- 
ordinary kind of preaching. We do not expect to see snow 
in harvest ; nor the sea, smooth as glass, and calm as a fish- 
pond, when a storm is out upon its surface. I need not mul- 
tiply words or figures. You know what I mean. I would 
recommend the same style of preaching, and means, which I 
have hinted at in this letter when describing our efforts for i 
the great revival in question. If the people of God unite 
with their ministers, and encourage them by their presence 
and prayers, while they are preaching fearlessly, vigorously, 
and pointedly, those great truths likely to awaken and convert 
men, the arm of God will soon be made bare in a great 
revival. I would urge the continuation of the meeting for 



THE TEST OF REVIVAL PRINCIPLES. 41 

weeks, with or without success. Whether the congregations 
are large or small, I would continue the meetings. Though 
sinners were as wicked as devils, and as hard and senseless, 
or stupid, as the seats of the chapel, I would continue the 
meetings, and preach on, every night, with an undying trust 
in the promises of God. Magna est Veritas et pr&valebit, 
— Crreat is truth, and it shall prevail. Let them thus go 
on repeating the blow, " Victory or death," and they shall 
see a revival ; such a turning to God, such an in-gathering of 
souls to the fold of Christ, as will gladden the hearts of all 
who believe ; while the scene will spread a tide of holy joy 
over all the inhabitants of heaven. Luke xv. 10. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE CALL OF THE S PI KIT. 

We are now approacliing a fact in Mr. Caughey's expe- 
rience, of deep and affecting interest. We are about to 
witness him listening to a solemn call from Grod, which is to 
utterly change the sphere of his action, to cast him as a 
pilgrim on the shores of another land, and to affect the 
destiny of thousands. The opinion of the reader concerning 
the exercises about to be described, will depend on the 
character of his pre-existing views of divine operations on 
the human heart. If he possesses exalted faith, if his mind is 
spiritualized by devotion, if he has a soul tutored by the Spirit 
to that child-like simplicity, so earnestly required by Jesus 
Christ, he will readily give credence to Mr. Caughey's 
statements, and admire that sublime obedience which led 
him, in the spirit of Abraham, to leave his home, to abandon 
the sphere of his present usefulness, simply because God 
required it ! 

But if his heart is more alive to the voices that come from 
without, than to the " still, small voice " within ; if he has 
more faith in the visible than in the invisible ; if he is a 
disbeliever in the subjective operations of the Spirit of God 
on the human soul ; he will probably read with a cold, 
questioning incredulity. But let him remember, that many 
great and pious men have had a firm belief in the subjective 
42 



THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 43 

influences of the Spirit. Wesley, Fletcher, Edwards, 
Luther, Doddridge, Bunyan, and many other greatly good 
men, would readily have sympathized with such impressions 
as those of Mr. C. ; where, as in his case, they were 
preceded by the steady enjoyment of holiness, by a life of 
prayer, and attended by outward Providences corresponding 
with and confirming the inward impressions. As long as it 
stands recorded in the Bible, that the Spirit directed Philip 
and Peter and Paul, that Christ pledged that Spirit for the 
guidance of his disciples, and especially of his ministers, 
there can be no room to doubt the possibility of such 
impressions. The proofs of their genuineness in individuals, 
must be sought in their fruits. To this test we shall see 
those of Mr. Caughey submitted ; and by their fruits, the 
reader will, we think, be compelled to admit their supernat- 
ural origin. But we will let Mr. Caughey speak for himself, 
in the following striking portions of his correspondence ; he 
says to an inquiring friend : 

I cannot say I have any serious objections against relating 
to you the circumstances which led me to this singular 
decision. I would have done so in my last ; but I felt a 
hesitancy to tell you, in the simplicity of my heart, those 
severe exercises of mind connected with it. I knew your 
cool and metaphysical turn of mind so well, that I feared to 
open a new field for your speculative genius. It is likely 
my simple story will excite your incredulity more than ever. 
" Strange," you will say, " that a man of sense, and a 
minister of God, should suffer himself, for such a small affair, 
to be tossed like a ball into a far country ; or, that he should 
suppose such great effects would be connected with such 
insignificant causes ; that the infinite God should stoop to 
bring about such important events from means so small and 
paltry ! " 



44 THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 

To this I answer, Man always proportions his means to 
his ends. He seeks to accomplish great designs by great 
means. With him, the cause must always be commensurate 
with the intended effects. On the contrary, God has ever 
delighted to humble the pride of man, by bringing about the 
greatest events by the smallest instrumentality. When dis- 
posed to smile at the trivial matter which arrested my mind, 
and which prepared it to take such an unusual course, I wish 
you would reflect on that verse you have heard me repeat, 
and which you so much admire : — 

" A pebble in the streamlet scant, 

Has turned the course of many a river ; 
A dew-drop on the baby plant, 
Has warped the giant oak forever." 

You will remember our Conference of 1839, was held in the 
city of Schenectady, N. Y. That year I was appointed to 
Whitehall, N. Y. Shortly after, I had my library and study 
furniture forwarded to my station. 

It was then I began seriously to reflect upon the propriety 
of choosing a wife, believing that "marriage is honourable in 
all men." I had travelled a number of years, studied hard, 
and expended all my time and strength in winning souls to 
Christ. My brethren approved of my intention. But while 
indulging in this purpose, for some reasons I could not ex- 
plain, my heart became very hard. The Lord seemed to 
depart from me ; and that countenance, which so often 
beamed upon me from above, and had daily, for many years, 
brightened my soul into rapturous joy, appeared now to be 
mantled in the thickest gloom. 

The more I reflected thus, " I can see no good reason 
why I should be singular among my brethren, nor continue 
to lead this solitary life," my heart became harder, and my 
darkness increased. I was soon involved in a variety of evil 
reasonings. My will seemed to be in a conflict with Sv>me 



THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 45 

thing invisible. God, who had honoured me with such inti- 
mate communion with himself since my conversion, appar- 
ently left me to battle it out alone. So it appeared to me 
then ; but now I see God himself was contending with me. 
I was about to step out of the order of his providence ; and 
he was resolved to prevent it, unless I should refuse to under- 
stand why he thus resisted me. Had I continued the conflict, 
I believe he would have let me take my own course ; nor 
would he have cast me off; yet I solemnly feel, he would 
have severely chastised my disobedience. 

My distress and gloom were so great, I could not unpack 
my library, nor arrange my study. I began to reflect most 
solemnly upon my unhappy state of mind, and became more 
concerned to regain my former peace and joy in God, than 
to obtain any temporal blessing whatever. The world was 
a blank, a bleak and howling wilderness, to my soul, without 
the smiles of my Saviour. In fact, that I could not live, 
but must wither away from the face of the earth, without 
his comforting and satisfying presence. Like a well-chas- 
tised son, I came back to the feet of my heavenly Father, 
and with many tears I besought him to reveal his face to my 
soul ; that if my purposes were crossing his, to show me ; 
and whatever was his will, I would at once, by his help, 
yield my soul unto it. "Lord God," I said, "if my will 
crosses thy will, then my will must be wrong ; for thine 
cannot but be right" Now I cared not what he com- 
manded me to do, or to leave undone ; I stood ready to 
obey. I felt assured, clear light from God on some points 
would soon reach my soul ; and I was fully prepared for it ; 
but I no more expected such an order as came soon after, 
than I expected he would command me to fly upward and 
preach the gospel in another planet. During three days I 
cried to God, without any answer. On the third day. in the 



46 THE CALL OE THE SPIRIT. 

afternoon, I obtained an audience with the Lord. The place 
was almost as lonely as Sinai, where Moses saw the burning 
bush. It was under open sky, a considerable distance from 
the habitations of men ; steep rocks and mountains, deep 
forests, and venomous reptiles surrounded me. Here, and 
in a moment, the following passage was given me to plead : 
" And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with liirn 
there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the 
Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, 
The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and 
abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, 
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will 
by no means clear the guilty." Exod. xxxiv. 5 — 7. I took 
hold of this ; many of the words were as fire, and as a 
hammer to break the rocks in pieces before the Lord. The 
fountains of tears were opened, and the great deep of my 
heart was broken up. I left the place, however, without 
receiving any light ; but my heart was fully softened and 
subdued, and I felt assured I had prevailed in some way 
with God. I was confident fight and direction were coming ; 
hut of what nature I could not tell. 

This was on the 9th of July, 1839. The same evening, 
about twilight, eternal glory be to God ! when reading in a 
small room adjoining my study, a light, as I conceived from 
heaven, reached me. My soul was singularly calmed and 
warned by a strange visitation. In the moment I recognised 
the change ; the following, in substance, was spoken to my 
heart ; but in a manner, and with a rapidity, I cannot pos- 
sibly describe. Every ray of divine glory seemed to be a 
word that the eye of my soul could read, a sentence which 
my judgment could perceive and understand : " These 
matters which trouble thee, must be let entirely alone. The 
will of God is, that thou shouldst visit Europe. He shaP be 



. THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 47 

with thee there, and give thee many seals to thy ministry. 
He has provided thee with funds. Make thy arrangements 
accordingly ; and next Conference, ask liberty from the 
proper authorities, and it shall be granted thee. Visit 
Canada first ; when this is done, sail for England. God 
shall be with thee there, and thou shalt have no want in all 
thy journeyings ; and thou shalt be brought back in safety 
again to America." 

The above is far beneath the dignity and grandeur of the 
impression. It came in a way which left no room for a 
doubt. A heavenly calm, a powerful persuasion, and an 
intense glow of divine love, accompanied the whole. It 
was like the breaking forth of the noon-day sun at midnight. 
I fell upon my knees before the Lord, my whole mind 
consenting to the orders, which I believed had come from 
heaven. Oh! the sweetness of that communion I then 
enjoyed with God ! My sky was cloudless. My rest of 
soul unutterable. The meaning of many past providences 
was now explained. The possession of a few hundreds of 
dollars, had often made me very uneasy. I doubted the 
propriety of laying up treasure on earth. The cause of 
missions stood in need of what I possessed, but still I was 
restrained. Now I clearly saw that God had provided me 
with these funds, in order to make me willing to obey the 
call, and to save me from embarrassment in my travels. I 
could perceive a special reason, why I had pressed forward 
in my studies for so many years, and why revival texts and 
sermons had occupied so much of my time ; — that God had 
been thus preparing me for a few campaigns in Europe. 

I arose from my knees under a strong conviction that God 
had called me to take this tour. Letters were written im- 
mediately to Canada, etc. The next day my soul was 
calm and happy. My books were unpacked, and everything 



iS THE CALL OE THE SPIRIT. 

in my study arranged with, a glad heart and free. Eleven 
months were before me, to criticise the impressions on my soul. 
With delight I com m enced my pastoral work, visited from 
house to house, and had the pleasure of seeing a most 
powerful revival of religion in my circuit. During this 
period, not the least wish entered my heart to form 
any connection or engagement whatever, that would 
entangle or hinder me from fulfilling, what I conceived 
to be, the high and solemn commission I had received from 
the Lord. I continued to resign the whole matter to God, 
entreating him to overrule all to his glory, and to hedge 
up my way, if it were not his will I should leave America. 

The time for the sitting of Conference arrived. With 
solemn feelings I took my seat with my brethren. They 
were never dearer to my heart than now. At a proper 
time, I presented my request to the Bishop. He made no 
objections, but immediately proposed it to the Conference. 
After a few moments deliberation, they seemed to have 
but one mind on the subject ; that I should have liberty to 
visit Europe. A resolution to that effect was passed, and 
that my name should continue to appear as usual on the 
printed minutes. One of the chief men of the Conference 
then arose, and said, "Having permitted Brother Caughey 
to visit Europe, it is our duty to make his visit to those countries 
as pleasant to himself as it is in our power. I therefore propose, 
that he have a recommendation from this body to the Wes- 
leyan Connection in Great Britain and Ireland, signed by the 
Bishop and Secretary of Conference." Adding, "He will 
then appear among our brethren on the other side of the 
Atlantic, as an accredited Minister of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church in America." 

This proposal was immediately acceded to, and submitted 
to the Bishop. He replied, that he had no objections, and 



THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 49 

requested me to wait upon him at his lodgings. I did so. 
He entered into conversation with the freedom and tender- 
ness of a father. Never before did I see such majesty, 
connected with extreme age. His hair, white as snow, fell 
in graceful locks upon his shoulders ; and his masculine 
mind, unimpaired by years, shone forth in company with a 
deep and glowing piety. I thought of St. Paul, of John, 
of one of the old patriarchs. I loved, admired, and rever- 
enced him. After an interview of half an hour, in which 
the Bishop appeared to be greatly interested, he presented 
me with the following document : — 

"TROY CONFERENCE. 

" Mlddlebury, Vt., June 24, 1840. 

" Brother James Caughey having asked permission of the 
Conference, to visit his friends residing in Europe, — 

" On motion, it was resolved, That Brother Caughey's 
request be granted, and that he be so returned on the 
minutes. 

"And it is hereby certified, that the said J. Caughey is in 
good standing in the Troy Conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in the United States of America ; and, 
as such, is cordially commended to the Christian fellowship 
of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection in Great Britain and 
Ireland. 

"R. R. Roberts, President. 
"J. B. Houghtaling, Secretary. 
Troy Conference." 

I have thus, in the simplicity of my heart, related to you 
my singular experience, and the circumstances which led 
me to take the course I have taken. * 



50 THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 

These great changes in Mr. Caughey's history, caused 
by such supernatural experiences, were not rushed upon 
•without a clear perception and due consideration of the diffi- 
culties they involved, as the following extract of a letter to a 
friend, who had written him on this point, will show : 

I think I feel the full weight of every question you have 
proposed. I have set them down carefully, one by one, that 
you may see they have all arrested my attention ; and that, 
writing them off, and having them before my eyes, I might 
be affected by them, and answer them most sincerely. I am 
not aware, however, that they have created the least un- 
easiness, or in any degree shaken the purpose of my heart. 
My call to visit Europe seems quite as clear as to preach tho 
gospel. It does seem — 

" A part of my being beyond my control." 

I candidly admit that there is a thick mist spread over 
my usefulness on the other side ; but sometimes, through the 
haze, I can see great multitudes of sinners coming home to 
God through my instrumentality. I have also a solemn im- 
pression, that the salvation, or damnation of thousands, may 
depend upon whether I obey or reject the call. I may also 
add, my impression is constant, that if I refuse to go, God 
will permit many troubles to come upon me in America, and 
that I shall, through future life, be ever after sorry I did not 
obey. 

Mr. Caughey's convictions of the reality of his divine call 
seem never to have faded, nor did his confidence in their 
genuineness fail him, as will appear by the following passage 
in an other of his letters. He savs: 



THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 51 

I remember walking one afternoon in a retired spot, some 
months before I sailed for Europe. It had been named 
Providence-path, because there I had prevailed with God in 
a time of great distress connected with my present tour. 
All the past providences of the Lord, and manifestations to 
my soul, came up before my mind in a manner similar to 
that part of Ezekiel's vision : " The appearance of wheels — 
and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a 
wheel." I saw how one wheel had worked into another, and 
started a third, and fourth, and so on till the great wheel for 
Europe was set in slow motion. Beyond this wheel I could 
not see. Then there were small wheels within wheels, but 
all working, Rom. viii. 28, and contributing to the great 
events of my life. I could name every wheel, and the re- 
sults it produced upon the one it set in motion. I wondered, 
admired, and adored. Before leaving the favourite walk, I 
traced the whole gently upon the bark of a tree ; but in my 
absence some rogue came, cut it down, and carried it off, I 
knew not whither. My diagrams I hoped might re- 
main till I returned from Europe, when, perhaps, a few 
more wheels might be added. They are, however, too deeply 
traced upon my memory ever to be obliterated in time or 
eternity. 

The following extract from another letter will show how 
carefully Mr. Caughey analyzed his mental operations. He 
did not grasp his impressions blindly, hastily, or carelessly, 
but with solemn and serious care, sought to discern what was 
human and what was divine in his feelings. On this point he 
writes : 

To your inquiry, " Did you feel condemnation on account 
of sin during your trials in July, 1839 ? " I answer, No. I 
faft jio condemnation, though perhaps I deserved it. But a 



52 THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT. 

restraint was upon me, which greatly distressed my soul ; 
and when I began to suspect, that the step might be con 
trary to the will of God, I felt worse and worse. The con- 
flicting arguments for and against, drew me out of my rest 
in God. I had arisen to transact my own concerns in my 
own way, and being unhinged from my centre, I was dis- 
contented and unhappy. 

There is, however, a mystery about those deep exercises, 
which I fear to explain, lest it would seem to contradict the 
reproach I have cast upon myself. I have seriously doubted, 
whether I should have entertained the call to visit Europe, 
for a single moment, had I not been previously prepared by 
those mental troubles. As it was, I gladly accepted any 
proposition which would relieve me from my sore conflicts, 
and bring again to my heart the comforting presence of "God. 
But then God could have ordered another kind of discipline 
to prepare me for obedience, though my foolish heart had 
wandered from him. As it was, if God did design to 
send me on this errand of mercy, it became necessary, I 
think, in this juncture of my history, that I should know it ; 
and when it could be no longer concealed from me, without 
endangering the whole, the Lord then revealed his will. Here 
I must leave it for the present. The present I Know ; tho 
past also; but the future is a dark unknown, 

' If light attends the course I run, 

'T is he provides these rays ; 
And 't is his hand that veils my so*-. 
If darkness clouds my days.'" 



CHAPTER VI. 

FIRST FRUITS. 

Having made his arrangements to obey the heavenly call, 
Mr. Caughey started for Canada to test, by actual conflict, 
the genuineness of the impressions so touchingly described 
in the last chapter. We are sure the reader will follow him 
with growing and eager interest, in his descriptions of the 
scenes enacted during this tour in Canada. The following 
letter was written on board a steamer descending the river 
St. Lawrence : — 

Dear Friend : — You will feel interested to hear, where 
I have been, and what I have been doing, since I last saw 
you. I obtained liberty from Conference to visit Europe, 
(June 24th, 1840,) but having some of my temporal affairs 
to arrange, I did not leave the United States till the 17th 
of September. On that evening I sailed from Burlington, 
Vt., in the steamer Burlington, Capt. Sherman; — walked 
the deck till midnight, agitated with a great variety of emo- 
tions, and distressed with many conflicts. My way seemed 
dark and mysterious. Bough weather setting in, drove me 
to my berth, sick. The next morning I landed at St. John's. 
I had been invited to visit that town, and an offer of accom- 
modation had been made to me. Yet I thought it most 
prudent, all things considered, to go direct to the hotel. 

The next day was rainy, and the weather continued wet 
5* 53 



54 FIRST FRUITS. 

for three days in succession. I found the place had 

been deserted by the Methodist preachers as hopeless. 
There was no chapel, and the little class had been broken up 
and scattered. A strong desire to remain a few days, and 
by God's help to do some good, induced me to make arrange- 
ments accordingly. Preaching was appointed in a private 
house, but very few attended ; and for several nights little 
or no effect was produced, and no increase of congregation. 
I kept up good heart till Sabbath ; when the enemy came in 
like a flood. My soul was sorely buffeted, and my prospects 
covered with gloom. Two ideas were continually before my 
mind. First. That I had done wrong in asking permission 
to take this tour. Second. It is going to be a total failure, 
as it respects the conversion of sinners. 

The devil roared against me, and my heart sank within 
me. Providentially, I had in my possession a volume writ- 
ten by an old Scotch divine. I took it up and opened on his 
comment upon the second verse of the one hundredth Psalm, 
" Serve the Lord with gladness." " Your serving him doth 
not glorify him, unless it be with gladness. A Christian's 
cheerful looks glorify God. We glorify God by walking 
cheerfully. It is a glory to God, when the world sees a 
Christian hath that within him that can make him cheerful 
in the worst times. He can, with the nightingale, sing with 
a thorn at his breast. The people of God have ground of 
cheerfulness. They are justified, and instated into adoption, 
and this creates inward peace; it makes music within, 
whatever storms are without. If we consider what Christ 
hath wrought for us by his blood, and wrought in us by his 
Spirit, it is a ground of cheerfulness ; and this cheerfulness 
glorifies God. It reflects upon a master, when the servant 
is always drooping and sad; sure he is kept at hard com- 
mons ; his master does not give him what is fitting : so 



FIRST FRUITS. 55 

when God's people hang their harps on willows, sure they 
do not serve a good master, and repent of their choice ; 
this reflects dishonour upon God. As the gross sins of the 
wicked bring scandal- upon the gospel, so do the uncheerfu! 
lives of the godly. Religion doth not take away our joy, but 
refines and clarifies it. It doth not break our viol, but it 
tunes and makes our music sweeter." I need scarcely tell 
you that I felt ashamed of myself. My heart was much 
comforted. The dark cloud floated away, and sunshine 
spread its brightness over all the prospects of my tour, both 
in Canada and Europe. 

Finding I could make no impression upon the population 
in a private house I looked around for another place. In a 
few hours an old deserted tannery building presented itself. 
It was almost filled with lumber and tan bark. Two good 
women, who washed for the steamboats, offered to help me 
to clean it out. They brought along with them two 
Canadian girls, their servants. I threw off my coat and 
went to work, hired a Canadian to cart some benches, and 
before night we had the place ready for preaching. 

The report circulated, the population got interested, and 
the next night I had a good congregation. A few pointed 
appeals brought some of them to tears. I cannot give you 
all the particulars, but sinners were awakened daily and 
converted to God. A class was formed of fifty-three members. 
Myself and another brother went from house to house in 
order to raise a subscription to build a chapel, and succeeded 
to the amount of nearly seven hundred dollars. So, after 
spending three weeks, and preaching twenty-six sermons, I 
bade the little flock farewell on the 8th of October, leaving 
them in the care of two class-leaders. I had been only a 
few days in St. John's, when I was invited to another hotel, 
kept by Mrs. Watson. Upon offering to pay my bill, sho 



5G FIRST FRUITS. 

would not accept a penny. May the Lord reward her in 
the resurrection! She also cheerfully and generously sub- 
scribed to the chapel. 

On the night of the 8th of October, I preached at La 
Prairie, a village on the banks of the St. Lawrence, opposite 
Montreal. There was a very gracious influence during 
the service, and I trust good was done. Next morning I 
crossed the river to Montreal. Here I received a hearty 
welcome from many of my old friends. 

My first acquaintance with this people was formed in 
1835, when about four hundred sinners were converted to 
God. I also revisited them in 1837, during another revival, 
and spent a month. I was kindly entertained during my 
stay this time, first at the house of John Mathewson, Esq., 
and then at the house of James Farrier, Esq. Precious 
families ! I shall long remember with gratitude their kind- 
ness. Spent eighteen days, preached eighteen sermons, and 
about twenty souls were converted to God. There were for 
some time, strong and convincing signs of an extensive 
revival, as though God intended to shake the whole city, 
but the devil created discord. The people of God 
were not united. Some wished me to stay, while others 
greatly desired I should " depart out of their coasts." About 
this time the Lord stirred up the brethren at Quebec to cry 
to God for a revival. My kind friend, the Rev. William M. 
Harvard, being Superintendent, informed them that I was in 
Montreal ; and, at his suggestion, they unanimously invited 
me to pay them a visit. My way being hedged up most 
singularly at Montreal, I quietly bade them farewell, and 
went aboard a steamer about nine o'clock on the night of 
the 27th October. My heart was deeply affected with the 
kindness of many of my friends ; I could mention their 
names, but, as they are strangers to you, it is perhaps 



FIRST FRUITS. 57 

unnecessary. They are, however, very, very dear to my 
heart. 

" Ah ! there are spirits in this fretful world, 

Which grow not old, and change not with the seasons." 

When morning light came, I found I had mistaken the 
vessel, and had got aboard a freight steamer, which had 
three vessels in tow ; a ship, a brig, and a barge. Every- 
thing indicated we were going to have a tedious passage. 
To help the matter, when we were near the centre of lake 
St. Peter's, the pilot got deceived by the lighthouse-ship, 
which had drifted from her moorings, by a heavy gale, a few 
hours before. So he steered by the false guide, as some 
Christians do by backslidden or unconverted ministers ; and 
so get on the shallows, as we did. The ship we had in tow 
struck, and stuck fast. Finding her unmovable, we were 
compelled to remain in the lake all night, and lighten the 
ship. 

The captain reproached the pilot, that in the blaze of day 
he should run so blindly out of the channel. The poor pilot 
laid the blame on the light-ship, as Adam did on Eve. 
Then I reflected thus : — 

Ministers and old professors, may be compared to that 
light-ship. Two passages will confirm the application. Phil, 
hi. 17. "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark 
them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample." Phil. 
ii. 15, 16. " That ye may be blameless and harmless, the 
sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked 
and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the 
world ; holding forth the word of life ; that I may rejoice 
in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither la- 
boured in vain." An able writer comments upon "holding 
forth the word of life," thus : " An allusion, some think, to 
those towers which were built at the entrance of harbours, on 



"58 FIRST FRUITS. 

which fires were kept during the night, to direct ships into port. 
Genuine Christians, by their holy lives and conversation, are 
the means of directing others, not only how to escape those 
dangers to which they are exposed on the tempestuous ocean 
of human life, but also of leading them into the haven of 
eternal safety and rest. < That I have not run in vain.' 
This appears to be a part of the same metaphor ; and allude3 
to the case of a weather-beaten mariner, who has been 
long tossed on a tempestuous sea, in hazy weather and dark 
nights ; who has been obliged to run on different tacks, and 
labour intensely to keep his ship from foundering ; but is, 
at last, by the assistance of a luminous fire on the top of 
the tower, directed safely into the port." 

The me an i n g of these passages is evident. The word 
towers, in the above extract, is very expressive. I wish all 
the lovers of Christ were as permanent. I have often 
admired the lines, 

u Strong in thy strength I'll stand a tower, 
Impregnable to earth or hell." 

Alas ! they mostly resemble these floating lights ; and, 
much as the event may jeopardize others, they are too often 
driven from their mooring. 

Now, I thought, so long as they keep in the right channel 
of life, in the position designed them by God; their anchor- 
age ground, the Bible and the atonement ; their anchor, the 
hope of eternal life ; faith their cable, reaching unto that 
which entereth within the vail ; Heb. vi. 19 ; in the meantime 
holding up the light of profession, supported by a holy life 
and godly conversation ; then, indeed, they are lights and 
guides which may be depended upon. 

But should they be set adrift by the storm? of temptation, 
break their cable, or drag their anchor into the regions of 



FIRST FRUITS. 59 

error, keeping up at the same time the old lamp of profession ; 
then, if we depend upon and steer our course by them, we 
shall most assuredly get aground upon the shallows of luke- 
warmness and spiritual death, or upon the rocks of open 
sin, and make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. 
Now, I continued to reflect, what these landmarks should 
have been to our pilot, the Bible is designed to be to all 
sincere Christians. "Thy word," says the Psalmist, "is a 
lamp to my feet, and a light unto my path." And, says St. 
Peter, " We have also a more sure word of prophecy ; where- 
unto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth 
in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise 
in your hearts." Our pilot should have tried the position 
of that light-ship, by the adjacent landmarks, before he had 
ventured to follow it ; and we should endeavour to ascertain 
the scriptural character of the doctrines, lives, and experience, 
of all ministers and Christians, who offer to guide us, before 
we intrust our souls to their care. God will no more excuse 
us for having been led astray by any of them, than our 
captain would the unhappy pilot. " If the blind lead the 
blind," says Jesus, " they shall both fall into the ditch," 
that is, into hell ! That vessel with her light was once, and 
only a few hours ago, in the best position she could occupy ; but 
what shall we say of those professed ministers of Christ, and 
those nominal Christians, who, by their own confession, allow 
they have never been born again, and who positively deny 
that any man can know his sins forgiven ; but who, at the 
same time, attempt to direct others in the way to heaven ? 
This deceitful light-ship occasioned the running two 
vessels aground ; and the rest had to tarry beside them 
during a long and dark night, while we served as beacons 
to other vessels, which passed us in the darkness. Such 
clergymen and professors ruin thousands of immortal souls. 



60 FIRST FRUITS. 

The night becoming cold and dark, I left the deck, and 
spent a few hours in the main cabin, reading and writing 
very comfortably. 

Yesterday morning we again got under weigh, and con- 
tinued our course down the river. Night brought on bad 
weather, with rain and deep darkness, so we crept towards 
the shore, and lay in a place of shelter till morning. 

We are now moving forward, and hope to arrive at Quebec 
this afternoon. I have an elegant and spacious cabin almost 
to myself, for the passengers are few. My time is employed 
in writing, reading, and praying. This season of rest is 
most refreshing to my body, and God is deepening his work 
in my soul. 

The narrative is continued in the following letter written 
from the city of Quebec, Lower Canada. 

My last was dated aboard the steamer on my way to this 
city. I landed on the same day about three o'clock in the 
afternoon. The society had received imformation that I 
had left Montreal for Quebec, and were waiting for me in 
the large school-room adjoining the chapel. Brother Selley, 
the junior preacher, met me on the quay ; we walked straight 
to the chapel, where I preached from, 1 John ii. 1 — 3. I 
received a most hearty welcome from my old friends, and 
from none more than from my warm friend Mr. Harvard. 

Many changes have taken place since I was here last. 
You have heard me speak of my Quebec home at Mr. 
M'Leod's. He and his dear wife gave me a most cordial 
welcome. I felt at home the moment I entered their house. 
On retiring to my room, I found that the God of Jacob had 
not forsaken their dwelling. In a moment I was filled with 
love and joy. I came down stairs praising God. Mrs. 
M'L. looked at me, but said nothing. The Spirit of God 



FIRST FRUITS. 61 

was working most powerfully upon her soul. She iiad lost 
the blessing of entire sanctification ; but a few days after 
this she obtained it again. She then told me, " When you 
came into our house, I was anxious to see whether you still 
retained the holiness and simplicity you had when here last. 
I was not quite sure about it ; but when you came down 
stairs, praising God, I was then convinced that years had 
made no change in your religious character. I was greatly 
troubled at my own conscious loss. My spirit had no rest 
till I told you my unhappy state of mind. The Lord 
assisted you in spreading my case before him, and now I 
have regained all I had lost." I rejoice to tell you that 
there are many such heavenly-minded spirits in this city. 
We have a precious society here. I say we, because the 
Methodist people are one the world over. The Quebec 
Methodists, however, are the most loving people I have ever 
met, and the most devoted to God. 

We have had a severe conflict since my arrival. During 
the first few weeks the devil threatened to drive us from the 
field. Sinners were as hard as marble. It seemed as if we 
could make no impression whatever upon them. As this was 
no new scene to me, I felt confident, if the people of God 
would only stand by me in mighty prayer, the arm of God 
would be made bare in the conversion of sinners. 

They did stand by me, nor did they flinch a moment till 
we had the victory. The weapons of our warfare were " not 
carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of 
strongholds ; casting down imaginations, and every high 
thing that would exalt itself against the knowledge of 
Christ." Ten sermons a week, with many exhortations, 
were discharged against the dark works of the devil. Many 
sinners, who were awakened when I was here in 1835, re- 
membered their old terrors, and avoided our meetings, and 



62 FIKST FRUITS. 

did what they could to hinder others. Wretched souls ! I 
believe that some of them were kept out of hell all these 
years that they might have an opportunity to see and feel 
the power of a revival in 1840. The Lord, however, drove 
sinners under the word. The burning truths of God were 
thrown into their intrenchments incessantly. Day and night 
they were cannonaded. Many of the wicked were wounded, 
and fled in terror, crying out, " They are mad ! they are 
mad ! " but their places were filled up by others. Hard 
things were spoken against us ; but they did not move us. 
The people of God carried victory in their very faces. It 
was a scene of awful grandeur. When their faith was at 
a climax, oh ! how they sang, — 

" We are soldiers, fighting for our God, 
Let trembling cowards fly ; 
We '11 stand unshaken, firm and fixed, 
For Christ to live and die. 

" Let devils rage, and hell assail, 

We '11 fight our passage through ; 
Let foes unite, let friends desert, 
We '11 seize the crown, our due." 

At last there arose a general cry among the wicked. Sin- 
ners were cut to pieces on every hand ; and since then the 
revival has spread among the people with astonishing power. 
High and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, old 
and young, are seen at the altar of God pleading for mercy. 
About the time of our hardest conflict, as I was standing 
within the communion rail, looking upwards to the gallery, 
I noticed two young men trifling. I learned afterwards that 
the cause was this : As I was looking up, one of the young 
men said to the other, " I should not be surprised if that 
chap," meaning me, "will come up here." 

This caused the other sinner to burst into a laugh. In- 
ptantly it was suggested to my mind, " Go up, go up." I 



FIRST FRUITS. 63 

did so, and the one who had made the remark, looking over 
his shoulder, as I appeared on the gallery, exclaimed, " 1 
say, if he is not coming ! " 

I advanced rapidly, and they could not get away. I put 
my hands upon them, and urged them to flee from the wrath 
to come. The one who had been the chief speaker was 
greatly agitated, and the next night was at the altar in great 
distress. He obtained mercy from God, and has joined 
the society. What the result will be with the other I know 
not. 

I was informed the other day, that an officer of the gar- 
rison came to one of our meetings, to see what truth there 
was in the strange reports he had heard. There was a 
powerful influence from God upon the people that night. 
Poor fellow ! he felt it also, but got frightened and fled from 
the chapel. He told a friend afterwards, " Why, Sir, I was 
sitting in the congregation, and I saw that man," meaning 
me, " coming. He put his two hands upon a man's head, 
and prayed over him, and then took him to the altar. Well, 
Sir, he came again and did the same to another ; and then 
to another ; and he was coming straight to do the same to 
me ; but, Sir, I started from my seat, and ran out of the 
chapel, and along the street as hard as I could ; a thing I 
have never yet done before an enemy." So true is that 
, saying, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." 
; The devil is losing his servants daily. A few nights ago 
, a man of extensive business was present at the chapel. His 
; wife, a few days before, had been converted to God. She 
i had long been a member of the Church of England, but had 
never been "born again." He was very uneasy about his 
soul ; but the devil would not let him come forward to be 
. prayed for. When the meeting was over, and we were al- 
most worn out, he came forward to the altar to tell me tow 



64 FIRST FRUITS. 

hard his heart was. Now, thought I, the devil has kept 
this poor sinner in his seat all this time, because he knew 
that if he should come forward to he prayed for, he would 
never get out of our hands till he was converted to God ; 
and now the devil has permitted him to come, because he 
thinks we are too tired to begin a second prayer meeting. I 
called to the brethren ; they were on the spot immediately ; 
the sinner was surrounded with praying men : " Now, down 
upon your knees, man, and cry for mercy.' ' The second 
prayer meeting continued till late ; the devil lost him. Next 
day he had some doubts, and he sent a message to me, say- 
ing, that he wanted to converse on the witness of the Spirit. 
I requested him to be present at the afternoon sermon, and, 
after which, I would converse with him. He attended ; but 
when the sermon was over I found him happy. God had 
explained the doctrine to Mm during the discourse, by send- 
ing his Spirit into his heart, crying, Abba, Father. 

I think about one hundred and fifty persons have passed 
from death unto life. I understand that about twenty-five 
believers have experienced the blessedness of those who are 
pure in heart. 

A few evenings ago, I heard a holy woman sing the fol- 
lowing lines, with heaven beaming on her countenance. I 
know not whether you have ever seen them, but they were 
quite new to me. 

" There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." — Heb. iv. &. 
Tune — "Home, sweet home." 
My rest is in heaven, my rest is not here, 
Then why should I murmur when trials are near ; 
Be hushed my dark spirit, the worst that can come 
But shortens thy journey, and hastens thee home. 

It is not for me to be seeking my bliss, 
And building my hopes in a region like this ; 
I look for a city which hands have not piled; 
I pant for a country by sin undefiled. 



FIEST FRUITS. 65 

The thorn and the thistle around me may grow ; 
I would not lie down upon roses below : 
I ask not a portion, I seek not my rest, 
Till I find them for ever in Jesus's breast. 

Afflictions may damp me, but cannot destroy ; 
One glimpse of his love turns them all into joy ; 
And the bitterest tears, if he smile but on them, 
Like dew in the sunshine, turn diamond or gem. 

Let doubt then and danger my progress oppose, 
They only make heaven more sweet at the close ; 
Come joy, or come sorrow, whate'er may befall, 
One hour with my God, will make up for it alL 

A scrip on my back, and a staff in my hand ; 

I march on in haste through an enemy's land ; 

The road may be rough, but it cannot be long ; 

And I '11 smooth it with hope, and I '11 cheer it with sonfl. 

The above is my experience. My soul is happy. 
6* 



CHAPTER VII. 

REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANiDi. 

In this chapter, we shall still see Mr. Caughey nobly ful- 
filling the objects of his spiritual mission in Lower Canada, 
with a success so peculiar and unbroken as to give full proof 
of the heavenly calling he had received. The letters now 
to be inserted were written from the city of Montreal. 

At five o'clock on the morning of the 17th of January, 
1841, I left Quebec for this city. Three sleighs, filled with 
our friends, accompanied me twelve miles out of the city, 
where we all took breakfast together. In February, 1835, 
when the Rev. Matthew Lang and I visited Quebec, for the 
first time, the brethren, hearing of our coming, in imitation 
of those at Rome, who met St. Paul at " the three taverns," 
came out twelve miles to meet us, and escorted us into their 
noble and beautiful city. You will not, therefore, wonder 
that my heart is warmly attached to the Quebec people. I 
only spent twenty-one days with them on my first visit, but 
twelve weeks with them this time ; preached nearly one 
hundred sermons, besides exhorting, times innumerable. I 
also gave them a sermon on Temperance ; and, in the hall 
of the Parliament House, I delivered an address on the 
expediency of total abstinence from intoxicating liquors. 
The Governor General very politely granted us the hall for 






REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 67 



the occasion. Many at this time became members of the 
"Quebec Young Men's Total Abstinence Society," which 
is in a very flourishing condition ; and thus it ever shall be 
with any Society, founded on right principles, if the mem- 
bers act consistently, and carry out those principles with 
vigor, to their legitimate results. 

"Facts are stubborn things;" and many of the anti- 
temperance men found them so that night. I told them, 
first : A coroner's jury has lately been held in your city upon 
the body of a female, who has been disinterred for the 
purpose of an inquest, under a suspicion of murder ; but 
death by intoxication was the final verdict. The matter, 
however, did not rest here ; an inquest has been held in 
another quarter, namely, in the conscience of a liquor seller, 
a professor of religion, and what was the verdict there ? 
That the woman came to her untimely death by liquor which 
she habitually got at his shop. The man came to me a few 
mornings since and inquired what he must do. 

Secondly : A few weeks since a company of men were work- 
ing on a building in the Lower Town. A dram dealer, close 
by, regardless of the danger to which the men were exposed, 
supplied them with drink. Toward night one of them, about 
half intoxicated, stumbled, and fell from the roof, and was a 
corpse in a few moments, leaving a widow and seven small 
children. 

Thirdly : Several authorized reports have been placed in 
my hands within a few hours. One of them states that you 
have six hundred places in your city where intoxicating 
liquors are sold. Another (your coroner's report) informs 
us, that during four months of 1840, verdicts were given of 
thirty-nine deaths occasioned by intoxication. 

Fourthly : An extract from the books of your jail, signed 
by the jailor, states, that from January to September (nine 



68 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

months) there were committed fourteen hundred criminals ; 
and that eleven hundred and forty-eight of them had been 
committed for crimes which were clearly traceable to intem- 
perance. It seems the other two hundred and fifty-two were 
put down upon the list of " unknown ; " that is, the cause of 
their commitment could not be assigned to intoxication ; but it 
was added, there could be little doubt, were their history as 
well known as the others, it would be found that their crimes 
originated from the same source. 

The Lord enabled me to be very bold and faithful, as there 
were many of the liquor trade present. I cried, " He that 
hath an ear to hear, let him hear." Behold the doings of 
your six hundred dram shops and taverns. They have sent 
more than eleven hundred persons to prison in nine months 
and have killed thirty-nine. I then made a supposition, that 
a few individuals, for the sake of making money, should 
open a number of places for amusement, of a very fascinating 
kind ; and that such establishments, while they were the 
means of sending eleven hundred and forty-eight men and 
women to prison in nine months, killed thirty-nine in the 
half of that time, how long would an outraged community 
suffer such horrible places to be open? Would not the 
strong arm of the law close them for ever ? But what have I 
seen in your city papers lately ? Oh, only this, that these 
wretched men are notified to attend upon a certain day to 
have their licenses renewed! I then related an amusing 
circumstance that happened in the legislature of Vermont, 
some time since, which showed that the minds of statesmen 
are beginning to awake to the horrible evils and inconsisten 
cies of the license law. A bill had been brought into the 
house, and was taken up for the third reading. One section 
thereof enacted a penalty for drunkenness. A member 
arose, and moved a commitment of the bill for an amend 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 69 

ment, by erasing the section against drunkards. He said, 
he objected to the punishing of drunkards by statute, and at 
the same time protecting the traffickers in ardent spirits by 
legislative enactments ; that it seemed to him like holding 
out one arm of the law to present the cup, and the other 
to punish the acceptance of it. As much as to say, " Hold 
out the cup, and if it is accepted, it will, by a sure 
process, lead to drunkenness, and then punish the drunk- 
ards." The Vermont Legislators saw the dilemma, and it was 
thrown back into the hands of the original mover for an 
amendment. 

There was an amusing, perhaps I should say, a melan- 
choly circumstance occurred at the close of this meeting. If 
it was mournful, it was, however, to me an evidence that the 
man's conscience vibrated, in some degree, under the in- 
fluence of that mighty principle which swayed the minds of 
the apostles and primitive Christians : " It is good neither to 
eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy 
brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." Rom. 
xiv. 21. A man, evidently under powerful convictions re- 
specting the soul and body destroying evils of intoxicating 
drinks, arose from his seat, seemingly with a determination 
to join the teetotal ranks. He walked toward the table 
where the sheet was laid for signatures, but several persons 
were waiting to sign, and he had to pause a little. He was 
greatly agitated, and, I believe, felt himself on the very 
brink of a Rubicon that would decide his habits through life. 
A friend of mine stood near him, and heard the following 
soliloquy : " Well, I shall not join to-night. I have a bottle 
at home, and a little in it ; I shall drink that before I sign 
the pledge ; but I declare, had I drank it before I came to 

this meeting, I 1 should have signed the pledge this 

night." So he darted out of the house, under the influence 



70 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA 

of quite a different principle from that which St. Paul felt ; 
perhaps not unlike the Cainite one, " Am I my brother's 
keeper ? ■" 

Small as the thing may appear, and simple as was that 
test of principle, yet it may be found hereafter, that the lit- 
tle that remained in that "bottle at home," stood connected 
with loss of character, a ruined constitution, a drunkard's 
grave, or his future wretchedness in hell. "Behold how 
great a matter, a little fire kindleth." 

The last night I preached in Quebec was an affecting time 
It was with much difficulty I could get out of the chapel, and 
away from the young converts. "How strong the affection 
of a new-born soul 1" After breakfast I commended the 
little party, to which I have already alluded, to God, and 
rode on to St. Ann's, fifty miles. Here I was met by 
Mr. H., of Quebec, who carried me in his sleigh to his 
father's house. A singular ride it was. Part of the way 
ran over, and along, tremendous snow-drifts, till we de- 
scended upon the Batascou river, and scudded along on its 
ice-bound surface twelve miles. Here night overtook us, 
and we got bewildered. After wandering up and down, 
looking for a path to the shore and uplands, we espied some 
persons in the distance, and by hallooing we attracted their 
attention. By their assistance we ascended the bank, and 
through a wild country 

" Of hill and dale, heaped into one expanse 
Of marbled snow, as far as eye can sweep, 
With a blue crust of ice-unbounded glazed." 

We arrived at his father's house about nine o'clock at night. 
The motion of the sleigh at night, with nothing before my 
eyes but ice and snow, brought on something like sea-sick- 
ness. I was extremely ill when I alighted, The Lord gave 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 71 

me a good night's rest, and I awoke in the morning quite 
well and happy. 

A messenger went out through the settlement announcing 
that a Methodist clergyman, from the United States, had 
arrived, and would preach within an hour. The poor peo- 
ple, who were hungry for the bread of life, were soon as- 
sembled, to whom I expounded the tenth chapter of the Acts 
of the Apostles. It was affecting to see with what eager- 
ness they devoured every word. Within a few minutes of 
the conclusion of the discourse, an astonishing influence came 
down upon all present. Nothing was to be seen but weeping 
on every side. We fell upon our knees and poured out our 
souls to God. There was very little noise, but the sobbing 
and weeping were wonderful. I paced the floor on my 
knees, encouraging each trembling sinner to rely upon the 
atonement for the forgiveness of sins. Lord Jesus remem- 
ber these sheep in the wilderness ! We had hard parting ; 
but farewells were interchanged, probably never to be re- 
peated. We then rode on to Three Rivers, without any 
accident, other than a thorough summerset in a snow-drift. 
I threw out my left arm to break the fall, buried it for my 
pains deep in the snow, and we lay sprawling for a time in 
the shapeless drift. Our fine horse stood perfectly still till 
we got through our undulating motions ; and after getting 
all " to rights," we started forward in good spirits, though in 
continual danger of another capsize. A previous upset of 
this kind was more disastrous. As I was riding along in my 
sleigh, wrapped in Buffalo skins, I came opposite a respectable 
looking man, standing by a fence. He asked liberty to ride 
with me a short distance, which I readily granted, hoping I 
might have an opportunity of talking to him about his soul. 
No sooner was he seated than I found I had a drunken 
man for a companion. On challenging his jug, he said, 



72 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

" My wife sent nie to the store for molasses, but I have 
got more falls since I left the store than the molasses are 
worth." I could well believe him, poor fellow ; but the fault 
was more in his head than in his treacherous feet. 

I no sooner began to talk to him about his soul, and the 
day of judgment, than my mare undertook to show she 
could play a drunken trick without either rum or molasses. 
Away she went down the hill, tumbling head-foremost, till 
she lay stretched on the snow. In the meantime, the 
drunkard and myself had a comfortable summerset together ; 
buffalo skins, portmanteaus, molasses and jug, whirled into 
the ditch along with us, the drunkard's voice grumbling out 
as we performed our evolutions, " The day of judgment, 
indeed!" The beast lay very quietly till we got out of 
the ditch. The sleigh was broken, and we were some dis- 
tance from any house, so I had to harness myself to it, 
and endeavoured to drag it along slowly ; the drunkard doing 
Ms best behind, pushing forward or pulling back, in strict 
accordance with the known laws of gravitation ; but he was 
perfectly sincere in his endeavours to help me forward. At 
last we arrived at a house on a hill, which turned out to be 
his own, and a very respectable place it was. I found he 
was a farmer, in good circumstances. His wife was sorely 
ashamed of him. I tinkered up my sleigh, and got ready 
for a start. He ran into the house for my whip, but on 
coming back, the alcohol drove him along with such velocity 
that he lost his balance, and came down with a terrible crash 
on the ground, which was frozen as hard as metal. " Ah ! " 
said I, "the way of the transgressor is hard." I gave 
him a few words of advice, which he seemed to feel, and 
departed. Who can tell but this event may be the means of 
his conversion to God ? 

We arrived at Three Rivers, where I preached from the 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 73 

second verse of the hundredth Psalm. After service, I was 
conducted to see a very aged minister of the Church of 
England, — a most venerable and patriarchal looking man. 
If I recollect aright, he is ninety years of age, but seems in 
full possession of all his faculties. He was sent out as a 
clergyman to New York, by one of the English bishops, when 
the United States were British Colonies. We had a very 
interesting conversation. " I spent," said he, " an evening 
with Mr. Wesley, before I sailed for America. On taking 
my leave that night, he presented me with Ms Notes on the 
New Testament, in two volumes.'' He showed me the 
books, which he had preserved with great care. When rising 
to depart, I asked his blessing. He arose, and with great dig- 
nity, placing his hands upon my head, with a faltering voice, 
prayed, " May the blessing of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost, be with thee, henceforth, and 
for ever!" 

An old Scotch divine has said, " It is one of the best sights 
to see an old disciple ; to see silver hairs adorned with gol- 
den virtues." How much more, to see an aged minister of 
the Lord Jesus ; one fairly worn out in his Master's cause ! 

Next morning I lost my passage in the stage, through the 
carelessness of the agent. After considerable trouble and 
loss of time, he was compelled to * rig up " a sleigh and 
send me off alone. I bade farewell to Mr. H., who seemed 
determined not to rest without " the knowledge of salvation, 
by the remission of sins." We started, and the driver was 
resolved to overtake the stage ; but common sense should 
have forbidden the thought. Sometimes we had three horses 
running Indian file, one before the other, and they went at a 
tremendous rate, — now along huge snow-drifts, then down 
on the ice of the St. Lawrence, and again on the high lands, 
7 



74 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

guided only in our course by small evergreens stuck down in 
the snow at regular distances. I expected every moment 
a complete upset ; but no, we were often very near it, but 
the expert Canadian always contrived to throw his body 
go far on the opposite side as to maintain the balance of 
power ; and I breathed freely again, muttering, " Oh ! wo 
were nearly gone that time ; now for another hairbreadth 
escape." 

At last I had so much confidence in the driver as to bo 
perfectly easy ; no matter how hazardous the enterprise in 
which he was involved, he always came off victorious. The 
Canadian cariole has two horns in front ; and as the driver 
seldom sits, he is ready for any emergency. He is never 
involved in a dilemma between the two horns ; he knows ono 
must be right ; that one is grasped in a moment, as if by in- 
etinct, and upon this he hangs with desperation. He eyes 
the danger from afar, and at the crisis, quick as lightning, 
he dexterously swings to windward, and, in spite of the most 
desperate circumstances, keeps the sleigh on its runners. 

About eight o'clock in the evening, we arrived at Mon- 
treal, ninety miles from Three Rivers, and one hundred and 
eighty from Quebec. The dear brethren at Montreal, re- 
gretting some of the movements of last October, were now 
fully ready for a revival. The leaders' meeting had given 
me a unanimous invitation to revisit their city, which I ac- 
cepted before leaving Quebec ; promising, however, to 
remain only twelve days, and then proceed to Kingston, 
Upper Canada. 

They had already commenced a protracted meeting, in 
the large school-room, underneath the chapel, and were in 
a fine state of feeling. I advised them to light up their 
chapel every night, and convince the public, they were not 
ashamed of a protracted meeting, nor of a real revival of 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 75 

the work of God. They did so, and our congregations in- 
creased every night. Soon the arm of God was revealed in 
the awakening of sinners ; but the converting power was 
strangely withheld. We humbled ourselves before God, by 
fasting and prayer ; and, at the same time, by preaching and 
exhortation, we endeavoured to storm the devil's camp. Our 
meetings grew better and better ; at the close of each we 
could say, — 

" The little cloud increaseth still, 
The heavens are big with rain ; 
We haste to catch the teeming shower, 
And all its moisture drain." 

When we were fully convicted of our own utter helpless- 
ness, unless God should help us, then the Holy Ghost de- 
scended in copious effusions ; and in a short time we were 
surrounded with scores of precious souls newly "born of 
God." Great unity prevails throughout the society ; the 
preachers are exceedingly kind, and we labour together in 
great harmony. 

Yesterday forenoon I was called upon, with a brother, to 
visit the house of mourning. When I entered, I was sur- 
prised to discern in the distressed widow, a mourning penitent 
whom I had seen come forward to be prayed for only a few 
nights before. She then told me that her husband was a 
wicked man, and had opposed her going among the Meth- 
odists, and that she dreaded his displeasure when she re- 
turned. It seems, however, the Lord took the matter into 
his own hands, as he was taken suddenly sick the night pre- 
vious, and expired before morning. 

You wish to know the names of the preachers who are 
stationed in this city. They are as follows : Kev. William 
Squire, Superintendent ; Rev. John P. Hetherington, and 
Rev. Robert L. Lusher, editor of " The Wesleyan ; " a 



76 KEVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

paper calculated to do much good in Canada, and I do hope 
the Methodists will support it liberally. 

I fear I shall not be able to visit Kingston, and it will be 
a great disappointment. The ice is already very dangerous, 
and the roads are in a wretched state between here and 
Kingston. My time, you are aware, is far spent. I must 
visit New York before I sail. Within a few weeks past, I 
have changed my intended route, and shall sail, if God per- 
mit, from Quebec to Halifax, N. S., thence to Liverpool. 

There were more than two hundred sinners converted in 
Quebec, and since my arrival, about one hundred and seventy 
in this city; but we are looking for greater things than 
these, as many are praying, — 

" A rill, a stream, a torrent flows, m 

But send the mighty flood ; 
shake the nations, sweep the earth, 
Till all proclaim thee God." 

I have lately received a most affecting letter from Quebec, 
giving an account of a dreadful fire, and the loss of four 
lives. As I knew one of the sufferers, I feel the more deep- 
ly affected. One night, during the revival in Quebec, as I 
was walking up the aisle, one of the brethren said to me, with 
great earnestness, " Bo you see that old gentleman with tl e 
bald head ?" 

"Yes." 

" Well, Sir, he was once a member of our society, but has 
long since left us, and what is worse, he is a miserable back- 
slider ; go and speak to him." 

His words came with power to my mind, and with some 
difficulty I got to him. He seemed very attentive to what 
was going on, but without any apparent concern about his 
soul. I was struck with his respectable and venerable ap> 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 77 

pearance. After a few words were spoken to him, a re- 
markable influence came upon my soul. Words were given 
me such as I cannot repeat. For a time lie remained firm ; 
at last the word came as fire, and as a hammer to break 
the rock in pieces. He became greatly agitated. My in- 
most soul yearned over him. I felt such a burning love to 
his soul, that I could have taken him in my arms, and have 
carried him to the altar. But he would not move, although 
he trembled in every limb. I told him I could not leave ; 
go to be prayed for he must. I urged, entreated, conjured. 

Had some polite and fashionable Christians been there, I 
am sure they would have charged me with overstepping the 
bounds of propriety, in attempting to drive the man to be 
saved. Ah ! there is much in that advice of Jude : " And 
of some have compassion, making a difference : And others 
save with fear, pulling them out of the fire." At last God 
helped me to prevail. With a faltering step, and almost 
overpowing emotion, he walked to the altar. It was full of 
penitents, but he fell down near it, and in about one hour 
God had mercy upon him, and healed all his backslidings. 
At the close of the meeting, there were great rejoicings over 
him, and many others ; among whom was one of his own 
apprentices, who obtained salvation the same evening, 

A letter brought me the sad intelligence, -that one night, 
about ten days after I had left Quebec, he, his wife, servant 
girl, and two apprentices, having retired to rest, towards 
morning a fire broke out in one of the lower apartments of 
the house ; and, although an alarm was given, such was the 
fury of the flames, that before an attempt could be made to 
rescue the inmates, all had perished except the elder appren- 
tice. " The fumes of their burning bodies made a part of 
the awful column of smoke which spread itself, like the pall 
of death, over our deeply-excited city." The youth who 



78 KEVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

was saved, is a member of our church. His escape was 
truly miraculous. He was awakened out of a deep sleep by 
the smoke, and some indistinct cries of fire ; he tried to 
awaken his companion, but the heat increasing, he rushed to 
the window, almost suffocated. Just then the fire blazed all 
around the room, and he sprang from the fourth story, and 
alighted on the frozen street ; yet not a bone was broken, 
and he sustained but very little injury. He says, that a 
little before he leaped from the window, he heard the voices 
of the old couple in another part of the house. Alas ! they 
must then have been surrounded with smoke and flame. 

I was informed that on Christmas morning, very early, 
the old lady attended the Methodist chapel, in deep anxiety 
about her soul. She said afterwards, " I went to the chapel 
with the intention of going forward to be prayed for, but 
there was no invitation." Oh ! how necessary to be " in 
season, out of season," in our efforts to save assembled sin- 
ners. She did not come again to the chapel while I re- 
mained in Quebec. Perhaps Grod, who had begun a good 
work in her soul, completed it before that dreadful night. 
Here I leave it ; but, with a grateful heart, I adore that God 
who enabled me, on the night referred to, faithfully and per- 
severingly to attempt to save the soul of her husband from 
the fires of the second death. Had he left the chapel that 
night without decision, or converting grace, he might have 
been eternally lost. Now, I believe, he is among the re- 
deemed in heaven. None of the millions who know him 
there, will refuse to say, "Is not this a brand plucked out 
of the fire ?" The eternal salvation, even of these two 
souls, (for the young apprentice who lost his life, had been 
converted also during the revival,) is worth the labour and 
expense of my whole tour, although it should not result in 
the salvation of any others. 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 79 

An awful event, which lately transpired in this city, has 
also made a deep impression upon my mind. I have just re- 
ceived the facts from one of our leaders. A young man who 
landed in this country from England, last summer, was 
spending part of Sabbath, the 14th inst., in a house in * * * 
street, in company with a person who came out with him in 
the same ship. While there he took offence at something, 
and, in his passion, wished that God might strike him blind, 
and dumb, and dead, if he ever entered into that house 
again. He and another companion then proceeded to a dram 
shop, and had something to drink. Under the influence of 
liquor and the devil, he returned to the house, where only 
one hour before he had uttered the dreadful imprecation. 
On Tuesday, the 23d inst., while employed in front of a 
house in St. Paul's street, a heavy body of snow came down 
from the roof, fell upon him, and knocked him down with 
such violence, that before they could get him from under it, 
he was dead. " Thus," says the leader, "his impious wish 
was granted ; he was struck blind and dumb, so that he could 
neither see nor call for assistance, and he was dead before 
he could be released." The Psalmist might well say of him 
who ruleth in the heavens, " Verily, he is a God that judg- 
eth in the earth." St. Peter also tells us of a certain 
class of sinners, who " bring upon themselves swift destruc- 
tion." 

About the time of my arrival here from Quebec, there was 
another death, in which I was deeply interested. The fol- 
lowing is the history of the case : When I was here in 1837, 
there was a powerful revival. One Sabbath night I was led 
to take that text, Rev. xx. 11 — 13. During the reading 
of the text a man began to tremble in a manner he could 
not well control. He attracted the attention of two or three 
praying men, and they kept their eyes upon him, hoping to 



80 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

to have him forward for prayer ; but as soon as the sermon 
was over, he made an effort to get out, and succeeded. He 
gathered strength in the fresh air, and ran for his life. These 
swifVfooted servants of Christ started in pursuit of the 
wounded sinner. At length he reached his house, and dart- 
ed in, not without having been observed by his pursuers. In 
a few moments they knocked at his door, and were admitted ; 
but he had disappeared. They inquired of the wife for her 
husband. " He is in that room," was her reply. " We 
must see him." She conducted them into the room, where 
he had thrown himself upon a bed. When he saw them he 
burst into tears. They pressed the truth of Jehovah upon 
his conscience, at the same time urging him to arise and call 
upon God. He did so, and they wrestled in prayer till mid- 
night, when he professed to have found salvation. Alas ! he 
did not long walk in the way to heaven. His old besetment, 
intoxicating drink, got the better of him, and he fell from 
God. 

When I was here last autumn he avoided the chapel with 
great precaution, but, before I returned, a fatal disease had 
seized upon him. His distress of mind and body was very great. 
Some hopes, I believe, were entertained of his salvation, 
before he breathed his last. The previous New Year's Day 
was a " high day" with him and his wicked companions, but 
before it was over he laid the foundation of his speedy death. 

We find a still further account of his labors during this 
tour in Lower Canada in a letter to a friend, written from St. 
John's, with which we close the present chapter. 

I did not think of writing to you again before I had sailed 
for Europe ; but having a few moments to spare, I snatch 
them to address to you a few lines. I have abandoned the 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 81 

idea of visiting Kingston at this time. Having still a deep 
interest in the welfare of the little society in this place, I 
gathered, from my feelings, that the Lord might have some 
thing for me to do, either in strengthening the young con- 
verts of last autumn, or laying hold of some of the devil's 
children, who were then wounded by the arrows of the 
gospel. 

I found the little society standing fast, and doing well ; 
but the wicked are afraid of me. They remember the ar^ 
rows of the last battle, and are better prepared to avoid 
them. So true is that saying of an elegant writer, " If the 
sinner is not recalled by the invitations of the gospel, he will 
be riveted by that gospel into more helpless condemnation." 
I fear I made a mistake in leaving St. John's so early ; and 
have some suspicions that was the reason why my way was 
so hedged up in Montreal last autumn. 

I preached eighty-six sermons in Montreal, one temperance 
sermon, and delivered five lectures on total-abstinence from 
all intoxicating drinks. More than two hundred sinners were 
converted to God, and one thousand persons united with the 
Montreal " Young Men's Total Abstinence Society." A 
deputation from the above society visited me before I left the 
city, with a request that I would give them a few months of 
my time, previous to my sailing for Europe, in order to visit 
a few of the towns of Upper Canada, for the purpose of 
promoting the cause of temperance. A liberal sum had 
been raised for the purpose, with an offer of more, if neces- 
sary, should I undertake the mission. Although I felt 
myself honoured by the flattering offer, I durst not accept it. 
I reflected, If my commission to visit Canada and Europe is 
from God, then I am not at liberty to be an agent of this 
kind ; because, in no part of it, is a temperance agency (in 
the proper sense of the term) written. On the same prin 



82 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

ciple, I rejected the proposition of some of my friends, to 
procure an agency for the promotion of the objects of the 
" American Bible Society." True, this would lessen my per- 
sonal expenses ; but, at the same time, greatly entangle me 
in my revival designs. 

But, you will ask, " How could you then consistently de- 
liver so many temperance lectures in Quebec and Montreal ?" 

I answer, on the same principles that I could give an ad- 
dress at a Missionary or Bible Society meeting; when I 
could make such addresses subservient to the revival ; when 
I could mingle with my remarks those eternal truths of the 
gospel which awaken and convert men ; thus affording my- 
self an opportunity of proclaiming the verities, and pressing 
the claims, of Christianity upon minds which otherwise I 
could not have reached ; and the very next night preach the 
gospel to these awakened sinners, and thus lead them not only 
to be temperance men and philanthropists but real Christians, 
and all this without infringing upon the rights of any par- 
ticular society, or without entanglements from claims con- 
nected with any special agency. 

Under these circumstances I cheerfully embraced such op- 
portunities, and thus enjoyed the double gratification of 
helping forward the interests of associations, good in them- 
selves, while I carried forward, at the same time, conscien- 
tiously, the grand design intended by God in thrusting me out 
from my ordinary sphere of labour. I intend to spend only 
a few days here, and then return to Montreal ; and from 
thence shall proceed into the United States. 

Finding myself quite unsuccessful here, it was impressed 
apon my mind to preach restitution. This has created quite 
A stir. I plead for the rights of government, as for those of 
an individual ; and insist that it is just as sinful to defraud 
the customs, as to cheat in trade. The smugglers are in 



REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 83 

great trouble. One was so powerfully wrought upon, that 
he was on the point of presenting his watch to a custom- 
house officer during the sermon. So he confessed afterwards, 
but congratulated himself that he had had strength of mind 
enough to conquer his superstitious weakness. I think 
the devil will have his difficulties in keeping some of them 
quiet. 

In Montreal the effects were more evident and general. 
Numerous cases of restitution came to my knowledge ; from 
the small sum of one dollar, ranging upwards to two hundred 
dollars. The history of some of the cases, though melan- 
choly, was really amusing. The conscience of a barber 
flew in his face, accusing him of repeatedly charging two- 
pence more for a certain article than its real value; and 
keener than the razor's edge was that conscience in its 
operations upon his soul. 

Another had acted the rogue, a few years ago, in denying 
possession of a bank note to a certain amount, which he had 
picked up on the street, although challenged by the owner 
a few minutes after ; now it was burning his soul like a coal 
of a fire. 

Another was the case of a young man in a mercantile 
house, who had charge of the cash book. In 1839, his em- 
ployer one day made a wrong entry, by mistake, which was 
to the young man's advantage. On balancing his cash 
account at night, a sum of money remained in his hands, for 
which he could not account, nor was he anxious to do so. 
Some time after, however, he discovered the error of hi3 
master, but said nothing, having expended the sum in a cer- 
tain article. The doctrine of restitution fell upon his ears 
like peals of thunder ; he became deeply concerned about 
his soul ; but this stood between him and salvation like a 
gate of iron. At last these words came to his soul with 



84 REVIVAL SCENES IN LOWER CANADA. 

awful power, " Will you sell your soul to hell for the sum of 
- — — ? " His conscience recoiled and staggered under the 
influence, and he cried out, " No, I will restore it I" 

Another had defrauded a widow, and he sent the amount 
to Mr. Squire, that it might be restored. But I cannot go 
over all the cases. Excuse this very hastily written letter, 
and believe me, your most affectionate friend, and brother in 
Jesus Christ. 

After closing these labors in Lower Canada, Mr. Caughey 
visited New York for the purpose of making a final settle- 
ment of his pecuniary affairs, preparatory to his European 
voyage. In reviewing his tour, he wrote to a friend, " The 
result has been the conversion of between four and 
five hundred sinners to Grod. I cannot help receiving 
this as a convincing proof that I have not mistaken the will 
of God." Truly this was proof amounting to a demonstra- 
tion. Nearly five hundred souls saved in a few months ! 
Thousands of ministers would be inexpressibly happy could 
they have as many " seals " in a life time. An " impression " 
so fruitful as this can hardly be deemed fanciful. 






CHAPTER VIII. 

HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

In the following chapter, we shall enjoy the pleasure of a 
sea voyage with our indefatigable revivalist. We shall be 
charmed with the innocent cheerfulness of his spirit, when 
out of the din of spiritual battle, and with the readiness of 
his ardent mind to improve every opportunity for doing good, 
whether in the walks of social life, or before the great con- 
gregation. Viewed merely as a Christian traveller, Mr. 
Caughey is an object of interest ; but there is a high moral 
sublimity in his movements when seen in their relation to his 
divine call. His voyage was a voyage of faith. Like ancient 
Abraham, he "went out not knowing whither he went," and, 
for the same reason, because "he was called." It is this 
fact that gives his conduct its peculiar colorings, and fills the 
Christian observer with admiration and even wonder at the 
man whose simplicity of heart and action is equalled only by 
his astonishing labors. 

But notwithstanding his call from above, Mr. Caughey 
omitted no personal attention to his temporal affairs, that was 
necessary to enable him to stand before the world in the as- 
pect of an honest man. Before starting for Halifax, we are 
pleased to hear him saying to a correspondent, c; My tem- 
poral affairs are now nearly all settled, so that I do not owe 
a single shilling on the continent of America. Help me to 
8 85 



86 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

praise God, for this mercy also." Praiseworthy considera* 
tion ! How judicious was this care for shillings ! It was wise 
in this devoted laborer, when engaging in his lofty and en- 
nobling mission, to keep himself unspotted, even from a shil- 
ling debt, before a world whose delight it is to gainsay and 
to injure the children of God. 

The letters, from which this chapter is compiled, were writ- 
ten from Halifax during the month of July, 1841. He says : 

I have travelled many hundreds of miles since I last 
wrote to you from St. John's, the 21st of last April. I have 
visited the cities of New York, Albany, and Troy. The 
Lord gave me an opportunity of preaching in several towns 
on my route, so that I hope some good was done. I spent 
Sabbath, the 23d of May, in Whitehall, N. Y., (where I 
received the call to visit Europe,) and preached three times 
on that day. I had a most refreshing time among the 
dear souls who were converted to God when I was stationed 
here. They had lost none of their affection. 

On Monday, the 24th, I visited the retired spot where 
God allowed me to plead, Exodus xxxiv. 5 — 7, on the 11th 
of July, 1839. After that memorable period, I always 
named it Providence Path ; and so noted it in my private 
journal. Here I had a gracious season alone, and dedicated 
body, soul, and spirit to God, who enabled me to plead, with 
great sweetness and power, that the blessing of the Holy 
Ghost might attend my labors in distant lands. Although 
nearly two years had fled into eternity since I prevailed 
with God to unfold his designs, the impression to cross the 
Atlantic remained as strong as ever. I left the hallowed 
ground rejoicing in God. It is possible I may see it no more ; 
yet it was impressed upon my mind that I should be brought 
back again to praise him in that place for his abounding 
mercies. 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 87 

About one o'clock I left Whitehall, in the steamer White- 
hall, Captain Lyon, for Burlington, Vt., where I arrived in 
the evening. My soul was deeply engaged in prayer all the 
day, many times repeating, as I walked the deck : — 

" Till glad I lay this body down, 
Thy servant, Lord, attend ; 
And 0, my life of mercies crown 
"With a triumphant end !" , 

On the evening of the 28th of May I bade farewell to 
my Burlington friends. Several of them accompanied me 
on board the steamer. We had a very solemn time in part- 
ing. Some thought they should see my face no more : 
others had confidence that I should be spared to return, 
whether they should live to see me or not. As to my own 
feelings, they were too deep and various for utterance. The 
friends went ashore, and our steamer, like an arrow, darted 
forward on that fine expanse of water. I walked the deck 
till midnight engaged in prayer ; and, after taking a last 
look at the United States, retired to my berth. Next morn- 
ing I landed at St. John's. I was rejoiced to find they 
had raised the chapel subscription to seventeen hundred 
dollars. 

I spent a few days in Montreal, and then sailed for Que- 
bec, where I arrived on the 5th of June ; I spent about 
twenty-four days in that city. It was not my intention to 
stay so long, but conscientious scruples detained me. The 
The Unicorn steamer was announced to sail on Sabbath, the 
13th June. This involved my conscience. I could not see 
it to be right for me to sail on the Sabbath ; and yet I could 
not feel resigned to postpone my departure till the return of 
the vessel in two weeks. I was greatly perplexed. The 
eyes of thousands were upon me ; and if my own conscience 
had been satisfied, I durst not give that Sabbath-breaking 



88 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

city a bad example. On conversing with the captain, and 
finding him immovable, I concluded to wait two weeks ; when 
he would sail positively on a week-day. My mind had been 
much cast clown for a few days, with many sore exercises and 
buffetings from the devil ; but shortly after I gave my de- 
cision, the gloom was totally dispersed, and peace and joy 
overspread my soul. Since then my peace has been like a 
river. Isaiah xlviii. 18. 

The Quebec friends were greatly rejoiced when they 
learned I would spend a couple of weeks with them. The 
chapel was opened for preaching every night, and the power 
of God was displayed among his people. Sinners were con- 
verted to God daily, and the young converts of last winter 
were greatly strengthened. Never shall I forget the kind- 
ness of that dear people ; every thing was done that human 
beings could do to render my stay pleasant to myself. I had 
several delightful excursions, sometimes with the most agree- 
able company ; often on horseback alone. 

As you intend to visit Quebec, you must not fail to see 
the Falls of Montmorency ; they are only a few miles from 
the city. The ride is charming, and the Falls will afford you 
some sublime sensations. You will not be overwhelmed with 
those indescribable emotions, which you felt when gazing 
upon the terrific majesty and overpowering grandeur of 
Niagara ; but you will be conscious of feelings quite as 
gracious and pleasurable. Here you will see a river of con- 
siderable magnitude, gathered into a comparatively narrow 
channel, moving on under a placid surface towards a cataract 
of two hundred and forty-six feet perpendicular ! Be 
cautious ! 

" Swift shrinking back, 
I check my steps and view the broken scene. 
Smooth to the shelving banks a copious flood 
Rolls fair and placid; where collected all, 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 89 

In one impetuous torrent, down the steep 

It thundering shoots, and shakes the country round. 

At first an azure sheet, it rushes broad ; 

Then whitening by degrees, as prone it falls ; 

And from the loud resounding rocks below, 

Dashed in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft 

A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower. 

Nor can the tortured waves here find repose ; 

But raging still, amid the shaggy rocks, 

Now flashing o'er the scattered fragments, now 

Aslant the hollowed channel rapid darts ; 

And falling fast from gradual slope to slope, 

With wild infracted course, and lessened roar, 

It gains a safer bed, " 

and steals away into the bosom of the majestic St. Lawrence. 
I know you love the grand and beautiful in nature, and I am 
sure you will retire from it, saying with your friend, — 

"My full heart expanded, grew warm, and adored." 

It is not likely you will visit Quebec in the winter ; but if 
you should, Montmorency is even then more grand than at 
this season of the year. You can then walk on the ice be- 
low the falls, very close to the descending mass of waters. 
Then it is you may see it with an accompaniment, which it 
never has in the summer, an immense ice-cone, formed by 
the spray, one or two hundred feet in circumference, stand- 
ing in the centre of the basin, and ascending as if to over- 
look the surface of the river above the falls. I thought it a 
grand sight when I was here in the winter of 1835. 

If you ascend the river a short distance you will light upon 
a place well worth seeing, the Natural Steps. These are 
formed on a large scale by successive layers of shelving 
rocks, and modified into a great variety of figures by the 
action of the waters in times of heavy freshets. Here, in 
company with a gentleman from the city, I spent an hour 
very agreeably ; and, kneeling upon one of the steps, we had 
a most delightful time in prayer. 
8* 



90 HALIFAX A2sD THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

The celebrated plains of Abraham must not escape your 
attention. These lie south and west of the city. Here the 
famous battle was fought between the English, under Gen- 
eral TVolfe, and the French, commanded by General Mont- 
calm, September 13th, 1759. A broken column of black 
marble marks the place where the English commander died. 
It bears this inscription : — 

" Here died "Wolfe, victorious." 

Quebec was then surrendered to the English, who have held 
peaceable possession of it since, with the exception of an 
ineffectual effort during the first war between England and 
the United States. Here your General Montgomery was 
killed, in a desperate struggle to scale the walls. The place 
where he fell was pointed out to me below Prescott Gate. 
Any intelligent person can show you the place where the 
English army ascended from the brink of the St. Lawrence, 
on the night previous to the battle. All visiters stand 
amazed when they look at this precipice, not less than two 
hundred feet high from the river, and reflect that the cannon 
and munitions of war, necessary for a great battle, were 
dragged up these steeps in one short night, almost in the very 
teeth of an enemy ; and that these wearied soldiers should 
have gained a complete victory the next day over a vigorous 
and powerful army. 

Quebec is built upon a lofty promontory, formed by the 
St. Lawrence and river St. Charles. The city looks best 
from the river St. Lawrence. You are aware this is the 
only regularly fortified city on the continent of America. 
The walls are nearly three miles in circuit, of great thick- 
ness, from twenty to thirty feet high, surrounded by deep 
ditches of great width, and surmounted by batteries at regu- 
lar distances. Every where, outside the walls, the cannon, 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 91 

like large black dogs, are peeping from their threatening 
ramparts. The city is entered by four or five massive gates 
of plain architecture. The citadel crowns the whole. It is 
built upon the highest part of the promontory, called Cape 
Diamond, and is considered impregnable. The walls are 
forty feet thick, with a ditch fifty feet wide. The whole 
includes between five and six acres. There it stands in dark 
magnificence ; its lofty ramparts frowning down upon the 
river and lower town, from the dizzy height of four hundred 
feet. It has been well called the Gibraltar of America. 

Time will not allow me to describe the buildings, some 
of which are elegant in design, and generally built of stone. 
A few days before I left, I visited the Marine Hospital, an 
excellent institution, and well ordered. The situation, how- 
ever, is too low. I found therein one hundred and fifty 
patients, belonging to different nations ; one dear sailor boy, 
fourteen years of age, deeply affected me ; in the dead hour 
of the night, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he had been 
ordered aloft, and, missing his hold, he fell from the rigging 
of a large ship, struck on the deck, and fractured his thigh 
in three places ; poor boy, how I did feel for him ! Lock- 
jaw had commenced, but he was able to speak a little ; he 
was quite sensible, and very intelligent. His little heart was 
drawn out in prayer for mercy, while I was pouring out my 
soul to God for him. He told me he was born in England, 
that his parents lived there, and that he had had a religious 
education. His lips the next day were closed forever ; and 
he obtained a lonely grave on a foreign shore, without a 
relation to drop a tear over his little coffin, or to raise a stone 
to his memory. 

I am sorry I did not learn his name, as I may possibly 
visit the place where his parents reside. It would be a great* 
comfort for them to know that their lovely child died pray - 



92 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

ing to the God of his fathers, and that strangers were kind 
to him ; that his tears were not unnoticed, nor his dying 
groans unheeded ; that the sympathies of heaven and earth 
encircled him ; that, while angel bands were conveying his 
wondering soul to heaven, stranger hands were decently 
attiring his unconscious body for the grave in which they 
laid him. 

A few days before I sailed from Quebec, I crossed the 
river to Point Levy, and spent a few hours very pleasantly 
with Mr. Johnson. "We had a charming ride in his carriage. 
The scenery is very beautiful ; and the harbor, shipping, 
city, citadel, and adjoining country are seen to great advan- 
tage from that side of the river. We visited a party of 
Indians who were encamped on the sand by the side of the 
St. Lawrence, some of whom we found busily employed in 
making very nice baskets of the bark of trees. One old 
squaw was asleep by the side of her husband, while he was 
engaged in preparing materials ; another aged Indian was 
slumbering by the door of his wigwam. They received us 
kindly, and were quite willing to talk about the Great Spirit. 
A child lay stretched on the burning sand, panting under 
the intense heat of a scorching sun. We inquired why they 
permitted the child to sleep there. They replied, " It is 
sick." Perhaps their Indian medicine required such an 
exposure. Their wigwams were made of the bark of trees ; 
and altogether there was the appearance of much poverty 
and degradation. 

As the heavens became suddenly darkened with clouds we 
hurried back, but had to quicken our pace, as the big drops 
of the coming deluge began to thicken around us. No 
sooner had we got into the house than the storm came down 
in fury. I had now an opportunity of seeing, for the first 
rime, a Canadian thunder storm. Nature, from a perfect 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 93 

calm, was thrown into a tremendous uproar. Tempest rolled 
on tempest. The clouds in black sheets seemed flying to 
either pole. The bursts of thunder were appalling. Waves 
of fire rolled across the sky. The peals succeeded each 
other with fearful rapidity. The earth trembled. The 
heavens resembled the ocean in a storm, billow rolling on 
billow, broken here and there into fragments of fire. Al- 
though we could say, — 

" This awful God is ours, 

Our father and our love," — 

yet it required a full conviction of God as reconciled in 
Christ, to keep our minds calm amidst these contending 
elements. We were in a state of mind fully to appreciate 
the sentiments of one who said, " What speaks the thunder 
in its cry through heaven's clouded palaces ? There is one 
God. And when the fierce tempest has lifted the billows to 
mingle with the tumult of the heavens, what voice is it that 
rises higher than their loudest outcry ? There is one God. 
What is the voice of those tall pine trees and time-defying 
oaks, royally waving their hands on high as they battle with 
the tempest, till the hurricane bends them to sweep the 
ground they have so long shadowed ? There is one God. 
Is not heaven's artillery ringing it through the air, while the 
red lightnings are writing it on the troubled sky in letters of 
flame, There is one God." We all said in our hearts, 
" There is one God." We did indeed stand in awe of him, 
as a God of majesty and power ; but we thought of Jesus 
Christ, and saw there the majesty of love. This we could 
not doubt. Jesus was precious, very precious. But had 
not the character of God been unfolded in Christ Jesus oui 
Lord, who took upon him our nature, and by his miracles, 
invitations and tears, his life, his sufferings, and his death, 



94 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

proclaimed what otherwise we never could have known, the 
love of God to us men and for us sinners, we might indeed 
have believed in his existence, but we should have trembled 
before his dreadful presence, and have been terrified by the 
manifested power of the invisible God. At the end of an 
hour the storm came to a crisis, the raging winds subsided, 
and the electric fires were extinguished with torrents of rain. 
Soon after the rain ceased, and we had a calm and beauti- 
ful evening. A few friends put me across the harbor in a 
sail-boat. As we glided over slowly, the citadel and city, 
with the immense forest of shipping, appeared to great 
advantage. I went straight to the chapel, and entered into 
a gracious prayer meeting. The Lord was present, and 
several poor sinners were converted to God. Returning 
home my soul was very happy, musing most feelingly on th? 
language of one of our poets : — 

1 How sweet at such a time as this to moralize, 
And think how soon the storm of life 
Shall pass, and leave this frail and earth-born 
Part to seek a shelter in the grave's sweet 
Solitude ; and this imprisoned spirit, 
Thus set free, to plume her wings, and 
Soar aloft, to gaze upon the universe ; and 
When her circuit's done, to fold her weary 
Wings fast by the foot of God's eternal throne." 

You will be pleased to know, that in my voyage to this 
city, I had the agreeable company of two Wesleyan clergy- 
men from Quebec, the Rev. Matthew Richey, A. M., and 
the Rev. Ephraim Evans, missionaries from Upper Canada, 
on their way to England. The particulars of this voyage 1 
must defer till another time ; but, before I conclude, I ought 
to state the reason why I am not now on the broad Atlantic, 
as silence on this point might cause you some uneasiness. 
When I arrived in this city the Columbia steamship was 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 9t 

alongside the quay, with her full compliment of passengers. 
"We went aboard and found the crew clearing out the fore- 
castle for the convenience of additional passengers. The 
agent offered us our passage for one hundred dollars each, 
instead of one hundred and twenty-five. I considered the 
matter over, and knowing that I should suffer enough by sear- 
sickness in the best part of the ship, I recoiled from the 
prospect of an augmentation of it in such accommodations ; 
so I refused to proceed, saying, I would wait two weeks for 
the next steamer. My clerical friends said they could not 
do so, as they had business of importance at the English 
Conference. It was quite easy to see from our looks, that 
we had learned a lesson now, which ought to have been 
known weeks before, that we should have either sailed from 
Boston, or have had our berths engaged there, if we intended 
to go aboard at Halifax. Although several hundreds of 
miles nearer England than at Boston, they demanded the 
same fare for passage. 

The vessel is gone, and here I am in a strange city. My 
soul is very happy in God. Sweet peace and a glow of 
divine love reign throughout my soul. Glory be to God in 
the highest ! 

" Within his circling power I stand; 
On every side I find his hand ; 
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, 
I am surrounded still with God." 

On the 29th of June, about noon, I bade adieu to Quebec. 
During my stay there, I preached nineteen sermons, and 
delivered two temperance lectures. About twenty persons 
were converted to God. A large number of kind friends 
accompanied me to the steamer, each vieing with the other 
in manifestations of Christian love. My heart was deeply 
affected. Many were the tokens of their friendship. I 
thought of A.cts xxviii. 10. It was so in this case. Not 



96 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

that I needed any thing ; their kindness last winter, together 
with that of the Montreal friends, had anticipated my wants 
for some time to come. It seems, however, they were not 
yet satisfied. A few moments before the Unicorn started 
from the dock, a person came aboard and put a letter into 
my hand, and went ashore. My tearful eyes were fixed 
upon my precious friends on the wharves as long as I could 
see them. It is impossible to express my feelings. I re- 
strained them as long as I could, but when Quebec and those 
I loved had disappeared, * * * * 

After my emotions were subsided, I opened the letter, and, 
lo ! a check on a bank in London for more than sufficient to 
pay my entire expenses from Quebec to England. The ac- 
companying letter informed me that the gift had originated 
with a few ladies, followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. I 
cannot withhold from you a copy of a note which I found 
folded in the check. It is from a precious servant of Christ, 
one who is an honor to her sex, and an ornament to the 
church of God in that city. Her kind husband and htrself 
have ever shown toward me the affection of parents, and in 
all my visits to Quebec their hospitable house has been my 
happy home. May the Holy Ghost ever bless them and 
their interesting family ! 

" Dear Brother Caughey : This is but a small mark of 
our regard for yourself, and love for our adorable Jesus. 
May God add his richest blessing ! Perhaps in some leisure 
moment you may find time to look at this fist, and here you 
will see the names of those whose hearts the love of Jesus 
has moulded to beat in unison with your own ; and who feel 
a sweet confidence, that if we meet no more on earth, we 
shall meet around the eternal throne. 

" Your obliged and attached sister in Christ, 

"Mary M'Leod." 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 97 

Our beautiful steamer dashed down the St. Lawrence in 
noble style. The ministers I mentioned in my last were 
most agreeable companions. We had, indeed, 

" The feast of reason and the flow of soul." 

As our vessel flew along the waters, her white canvas wings 
filled with the propitious breeze, that delightful verse rolled 
many times over my mind with the greatest sweetness — 

" Press forward, press forward, 
The prize is in view ; 
A crown of bright glory, 
Is waiting for you." 

Thirty-four hours brought us to Gaspe, four hundred miles 
from Quebec. On the evening of the 30th of June, Mr. 
Richey preached us an excellent sermon. We had about 
thirty passengers aboard, and they were very attentive to 
the word. 

The St. Lawrence is a beautiful river. From the east 
end of Lake Ontario, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 
Atlantic, is seven hundred miles, which is considered, I 
believe, the length of this river ; but the whole extent ot 
water communication, by the great lakes and this river, can- 
not be less than two thousand miles. Besides, it is not only 
the outlet to that great chain of western lakes I have refer 
red to, it also receives the waters of Lake Champlain, the 
Ottawa, or Grand River, and a great variety of tributary 
streams. The scenery from Quebec to Gaspe is as diversi 
fied and picturesque as you could well imagine. From 
Quebec, one hundred miles, we had almost a continuous chain 
of little Canadian houses, with here and there a small village, 
and the spire of a church " pointing like a silent finger into 
heaven." When these are past, all is one vast scene of 
desolation. Forests, rocks, precipices, and mountains, arise 
9 



98 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 






in awful and singular profusion. On approaching the Gulf, 
the grandeur and exceeding boldness of the widely separated 
shores are quite befitting the mouth of such a mighty river. 
The scene must be appalling in the depth of winter. We 
found ourselves in the Gulf on the morning of July the 1st, 
and were out of sight of land during several hours. The 
weather was very fine, and scarcely a ripple ruffled that vast 
expanse of waters. What a contrast between its then placid 
and silvery bosom, and the terrific uproar observable here 
late in the autumn or early in the spring ! 

Many a fine vessel has been ingulfed here ; and the bones 
of vast multitudes line the shores of this dangerous region. 
Only a few weeks since, the brig Minstrel, Captain Outer- 
bridge, struck a dangerous reef in a heavy sea, went down, 
and nearly all on board perished. The vessel sailed from 
Limerick, Ireland, last April, with one hundred and forty-one 
passengers, emigrants intending to settle in Canada. It 
seems they had a tolerable passage ; but when full of joy at 
hailing the land of their destination, and supposing all their 
hazards and hardships were over, in a moment the full cup 
of misery was placed in their hands, nor was it long ere they 
drank it to the very dregs. At four o'clock in the morning the 
vessel struck on the reef. The boats were launched and 
made fast to the fOre chains ; upwards of one hundred pas- 
sengers embarked in them, but their doom was quickly 
sealed; the brig "heeled off" into deep water, and went 
down stern foremost, and so suddenly that the ropes of the 
boats could not be cast off, and all followed' the ship to the 
bottom. Out of upwards of one hundred and fifty souls 
only eight remained to tell the sad tale. These eight had 
got into the gig, which was towing astern ; providentially, 
the rope which attached it to the vessel broke when she wen 1 ! 
down, and they escaped from the yawning whirlpool. 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. \)\) 

But, ah ! their souls. What became of their souls. How 
sudden the transition from time to eternity ! So many ac- 
countable beings forced, prepared or not, into the presence 
of the Judge of all. The captain, poor fellow ! behaved 
most gallantly during the awful scene, declaring that he 
would not leave the vessel till all his passengers were saved, 
and he perished with the rest. 

There was another event happened farther up the river 
last November, which I used to great advantage at Quebec, 
at a temperance meeting. Two of Her Britannic Majesty's 
soldiers went on board a vessel on business ; one of them 
took with him a bottle of liquor ; they got drunk, quarrelled, 
and, seizing each other in mortal conflict, carried their ven- 
geance even unto the death. A gentleman came on deck 
just as they went overboard. They continued their murder- 
ous grapple in the water till they went down to rise no more 
alive. But the matter did not end here ; the man who let 
that soldier have the liquor had a little harbor near his 
house, where he kept a small boat. One morning, a few 
weeks after the event, on going down to his boat, lo ! the 
victim of his rum, the corpse of that unfortunate soldier lay 
beside his boat. It had floated seven miles from where the 
catastrophe happened. A physician told me the effects upon 
the man were awful. But to return to our voyage in the 
Gulf. 

I felt grateful to God for the calm, not on account of our 
safety merely, but I did not want to have a foretaste of my 
sea-sickness before I had it in good earnest on the Atlantic, 
The passengers were in fine spirits ; but, at the dinner table, 
some appeared to think that such spirits could not last long 
unless recruited by the spirits beneath the cork. Your friend, 
being of quite a different opinion, was drawn into a tempe- 
rance debate. The bottles, of course anti-temperance char- 



100 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

ackers, were powerful advocates on the other side. After 
we had been contending some time, a gentleman from St. 
John's, New Brunswick, observing a bloated son of the cups 
deliberately depriving the corks of all authority, and liberating 
most freely, for a moment, the spirits imprisoned there, then 
incarcerating them in as hopeless and objectionable a prison 
as ever poor alcohol had the misfortune to fall into, whispered 
in my ear, " How horrible a thing it is to see a man make 
such a steam engine of his stomach ! " This brought him 
out, and a few strokes like the following put an end to the 
debate : "I have been to Montreal, and also to Quebec. My 
business to these cities has called me frequently to the cab 
depots. When looking among them for a suitable convey- 
ance, I saw poor horses whose hides presented a very wide 
contrast when compared with others. In a short time I 
could always tell what horse belonged to a temperance man, 
and what to an opposite character. When I saw a good 
looking horse, and in excellent order, I concluded, that be- 
longs to a teetotaller ; and when I saw a poor animal that 
the crows might be ready to fall upon, I exclaimed, The 
owner of this takes the oats himself ; and nothing that oc- 
curred afterwards convinced me I had come to an erroneous 
conclusion." 

We had only been a few hours out of sight of land when 
we hailed Prince Edward's Island, and the Island of Cape 
Breton. The latter island is separated from Nova Scotia by 
an arm of the sea, called the Gut of Canso. Both islands 
belong to Great Britain. 

As we neared land, Prince Edward's Island looked exceed- 
ingly beautiful. And now I saw what I had long desired to 
see, that strange optical illusion, " The Mirage." It is 
formed by a state of the atmosphere so highly transparent 
that objects beneath are reflected as in a mirror. Prince 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 101 

JEdward's Island seemed like a scene of enchantment, or 
some fairy land. The shores arose in bold and lofty gran- 
deur twice their natural height ; and every object more than 
doubled its size. The little white houses along the shores 
were transformed into high towers, and some of them looked 
like splendid waterfalls, equal to Montmorency or Niagara. 
The whole was a complete illusion. About ten miles east- 
ward, there was another on a parallel with the sun. It was 
formed by the action of the sun's rays upon the water, the 
atmosphere being at the same time in a state of peculiar 
transparency. This was entirely a water illusion. The 
little waves appeared like a swamp of tall reeds, and again 
like an immense sheet of water falling over the side of a 
dam. 

Prince Edward's Island, I understand, contains a popu- 
lation of eighty thousand souls. Cape Breton was first 
discovered by the French, and called by them L'Isle Royale. 
It contains a population of thirty thousand, and sends two 
members to the provincial Assembly of Nova Scotia. The 
island, as I said before, belongs to England ; and her naval 
power in possession of it, easily commands the whole St. 
Lawrence. 

We cast anchor in the harbor of Pictou, about dark. It 
is a spacious basin formed by an arm of the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, three miles from its mouth. The small boats were 
launched, and, after some difficulty with our baggage, we 
were safely put on shore. We made the voyage from Que- 
bec to Pictou, six hundred and fifty miles, in fifty-seven hours. 
I was up next morning in good time in order to get a good 
view of the town. It has several churches, a court-house, 
and an academy. Population, eighteen thousand souls 
Timber, coal, oil, and fish, form the principal articles of » 
trade. The town is pleasantly situated. I understand 
9* 



102 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

there is a high probability that it will yet be the great em 
porium of the Gulf. The harbor is often frozen in the winter. 
The coaches were ready by noon, and, after bargaining as 
we could with men who seemed determined to make the most 
of us, we started for Halifax. The sky had a very threat- 
ening aspect, and the inside being quite full I was compelled 
to take my seat with the coachman, which, however, afforded 
me the advantage of seeing the country. Shortly the clouds 
dispersed and we had a lovely day. As our route lay many 
miles through an almost uninhabited desert I expected miser- 
able roads ; but, to my surprise, they were excellent, equal 
to any of your Macadamized roads in the United States. 

Some parts of the country were very thinly settled ; 
others a wilderness of trees and brushwood. There was 
nothing, throughout our whole journey across Nova Scotia, 
looked so dreary to me as the desolate and abandoned hovels 
of the new settlers. These mournful objects meet the eye 
in different directions, and fill the mind with a variety of 
melancholy sensations. Ah ! there is a spot that pleased 
the inexperienced eye of a poor exile. There he built his 
hut of rough logs, and thither he conducted the partner of 
his joys and sorrows with the little ones. Yonder, with his 
brawny arm, he felled the lofty trees, and opened a path for 
the sunshine to the long neglected bosom of the earth. Here 
was his first cleared field, still full of black stumps ; the 
marks of the spade and the plough, with the appearance of 
a scanty harvest, are still visible. But the winter came 
upon him, and the produce of his two small fields, which he 
had stored so carefully in a corner of his log house, was ex- 
hausted before the long and severe winter was over. He 
had no money to buy provisions, nor could he and his family 
by any means subsist till a coming harvest. A council was 
held, and he and his wife, with weeping eyes, bade 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 108 

farewell to their home in the wilderness, and they never had 
courage to make a second trial of the unkind soil. 

We travelled all night, and, as morning opened upon us, 
the country greatly improved, and continued to do so to 
Halifax, where we arrived on the 3d instant, in the afternoon. 

As I related the cause of my detention in my last, I need 
not repeat it here. The Columbia sailed the evening I ar- 
rived. As soon as the Wesleyan ministers knew I was in town 
they showed me every mark of kindness and respect. Here 
I met my old acquaintance, the Rev. William Crosscombe, 
who is Superintendent of the Halifax Circuit. He and his 
excellent wife were glad to see me. I found them both as 
ardent in the cause of Christ, and as deeply devoted to God 
as when I parted with them in 1835 at Montreal. Mr. C. 
introduced me to his colleague, the Rev. Charles de Wolfe. 
We had not been long together before I found in him a 
kindred spirit. We have had some delightful rides over the 
peninsula, and have taken the sweetest counsel on the things 
of God. He is a most intelligent person, and possesses 
talent which will, I have no doubt, enable him, if spared, 
to take the first rank among the able ministers of the New 
Testament. 

A home was provided for me at the house of Mr. Billings, 
a merchant of the city. He, with his two daughters , had 
just sailed for England ; but Mrs. B., notwithstanding all 
her cares in the absence of her husband, seemed delighted 
to show me every kindness that hospitality could devise ; 
dear woman, she was greatly troubled at a little incident 
which I know will amuse you. Mrs. B. was inquired of 
whether she could accommodate a stranger for a few days at 
her house ; her mind being troubled about the departure of 
her husband and daughters for England, and worn down with 
the fatigue of getting them in readiness, she shrank from 



104 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

any additional trouble ; so, casting a glance at the stranger, 
who bj the way was far from presenting a tidy appearance, 
being in his travelling dress, unshaven, and covered with the 
dust of a long journey, she gave a positive refusal ; and, 
indeed, I could not blame her. This was Saturday, and I 
obtained lodgings elsewhere. 

Next day she was in her place in the house of God, and, 
hearing your friend in one of his happiest hours unfolding 
the wonders of redemption, she became sorely troubled, 
exclaiming to herself, " Oh ! what is this that I have done ? 
I have turned away from my house a servant of God, I have 
turned away from my door a minister of Jesus Christ." 
The following morning she applied to Mr. Crosscombe, and 
insisted I should make her house my home. I did so, and 
in her I found a mother indeed. 

I am now preaching every night to good congregations. A 
few have been converted to God. Will you believe me if I 
tell you that I visited the theatre while in Quebec, " The 
Theatre Royal," and that I was on the stage and took part 
in what was going on ; that I had authority to order the 
necessary scenery ; that the theatre filled well, and that I 
received great applause for my performances ? Well, so it 
was ! But it was a temperance meeting. I chose a dark 
prison scene for the drapery behind the stage, and brought 
forward two prisoners to be tried before a judge and jury, 
The names of the prisoners were the Devil and Alcohol 
The chairman was the judge, and all who had not signed 
the total abstinence pledge were the jury, and the verdict 
against Alcohol was to be given by the act of signing the 
pledge. On commencing my address, I told them it was 
proper, before I preferred my charges against the prisoners, 
or called forth my witnesses, to apprize them that I never had 
had the honor of being a lawyer, nor had I ever had a law- 



HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 105 

suit with man, woman, or child, all the days of my life ; and, 
therefore, that they must not expect me to adorn my speech 
with legal phrases, nor cramp myself with the technicalities 
of that profession. We had a stirring time, and a noble 
verdict against Alcohol. 

At the close of the meeting, Mr. Booth, of whom I think 
you have heard me speak when in * * * * , and who is the 
father of the temperance society in Quebec, came forward on 
the stage, and taking from his breast his own splendid medal 
presented it to me, with a very neat speech, in the midst of 
tremendous applause. 

I arose and returned thanks to Mr. B., and acknowledged 
the kindness of the audience, as well as I was capable ; but, 
really, I had no command of my feelings ; the thing was 
so unexpected and so unmerited that it almost unmanned 
me. 

A few days ago, in company with Mr. De Wolfe, I visited 
the ruins of Prince William's Lodge. (Afterwards William 
IV. of England.) It is situated about two and a half miles 
from the isthmus, on the western banks of Bedford Basin. 
Here, about thirty-five years ago, the young prince careered 
in all the dissipation which wealth and luxury could afford. 
The building has been rather elegant in its day, but, unlike 
the ancient castles of Europe, it is not likely long to perpet- 
uate the memory of him whose name it bears. It is of wood, 
but neglect and the extreme rigor of the climate have con- 
spired to render it a complete wreck, so much so that it is 
dangerous to enter it. The front is much torn away ; this, 
and the hanging ceilings, tottering floors and empty chambers, 
exposed to the gaze of the visitor, render it an object of 
mournful desolation. 

We wandered over the grounds, once laid out in hand- 
some walks, but now totally neglected, and overgrown with 



106 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

grass and weeds. Here and there we espied little summer 
houses painted white, and surrounded with 

" The leafy labyrinth, of embowering trees." 

But the fingers of desolation are busy upon these also, 
while human fingers have been writing epitaphs in a great 
variety of. poetic fancies. Several of the verses penciled 
upon the walls are not without merit, principally on the 
vanity of earthly things ; all tending to confirm that impor 
taut sentiment, 

"He builds too low, who builds beneath the skies." 

We had not time to copy any of them ; but, after glanc- 
ing at the circular wine-house, standing lonely and decaying 
upon a jutting promontory on the brink of the basin, we 
came away mournfully reflecting, Here is the place where 
the prince revelled in all the luxuriance of English living ; 
but he has gone to the grave, and a singular frown of 
desolation seems to hang over the scenes of his former 
pleasures. 

God has a good, a lovely people in Halifax. Our meet- 
ings are delightful. There is a move among sinners, and 
one now and again converted to God. Here, as in most 
places, I met with a little prejudice against the adoption 
of extraordinary means for the revival of the work of God ; 
but, I doubt not, could I remain here two or three months 
longer, all feeling of this kind would vanish, and we should 
have a warm and general co-operation from all who love 
Christ and the souls of men. But I cannot stay. To-mor- 
row, if God permit, I shall sail for England. If his provi- 
dence conduct me safely over the great deep, you may 
expect to hear of me from some part of that country. 

The other night I gave a lecture on temperance. The 



1IALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 107 

audience was very large, and for a time appeared passionless ; 
but when I got fairly into my subject, the cool-tempered 
Nova Scotians gave ample proof that they were capable of 
the highest excitement. Every man, woman, and child, 
seemed resolved they would never drink another drop of 
intoxicating liquor. Two dogs, which had followed their 
masters to the meeting, got full as much excited as any of 
the rationals, and gave their full-mouthed applause in their 
own way. So we had what Thomas describes so nervously, 

" The clamor roars of men and boys and dogs." . 

Success to the Nova Scotians. If they are not as hearty as 
they should be in religion, I am glad to see them at least 
whole-souled on the temperance subject. Perhaps the 
following anecdote may not be unacceptable : — 

Previous to the above meeting, a committee of the city 
temperance society waited upon me, and brought with them 
an old gentleman, who is a member of our church and a 
warm advocate of temperance, to introduce them. In the 
course of the conversation he said, " This morning I was sit- 
ting in the barber's shop, and my large dog was waiting for 
me near the door. A man came in who is an habitual 
drunkard. He has made efforts several times at reformation, 
but has again and again fallen into his intemperate habits. 
This morning he was sober and thoughtful. I said to him, 

" 'Do you see that dog V 

" * Yes, I do,' said he, * and a fine one he is too.' 

" I then ordered the barber's boy to hand me an empty 
glass, and I held it toward the dog's mouth ; but the poor 
animal sneaked away with his tail between his legs, as if ho 
were ashamed, or was about to receive a severe chastisement. 
The poor fellow expressing some surprise, I asked him if he 



108 HALIFAX AND THE VOYAGE THITHER. 

knew the reason why that dog sneaked away so. ' No, Sir ; 
why does he that ? ' 

" ' Well, friend, that dog was once made drunk, and ever 
since, if a glass is held out to him thus, he acts just so. This 
is a Newfoundland dog. Several years ago some fishermen 
of that country made him drunk ; and such is his hatred, 
on that account, toward any of the craft, that if a fisherman 
or fisherman's boy should hold out the glass to him he would 
capsize him in a moment. He would bite him. , 

" My hearer felt the reproof, and made his exit, not without 
receiving a lesson which I trust may be made a lasting 
blessing." 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

As the reflective reader peruses this chapter, he will not 
fail to notice the inflexible adhesion of our traveller to the 
grand object of his mission. In the friendly outpouring of 
his soul in this characteristic correspondence, he has, with 
manifest unconsciousness, revealed its devotion to its chosen 
work of soul-saving. Amidst the mixed society of the 
steamship he maintains the character of the Christian laborer, 
and is ready to grapple in argument with the sceptic, to utter 
an adroit and cutting rebuke to the gambler, to preach the 
gospel alike to the purse-proud voyager in the cabin, and to 
the poor sailor in the forecastle. This is as it should be. 
The Christian, and more especially the Christian minister, 
should see his field of labor every where ; and seize upon 
every opportunity to work for Lis master. Not only should 
he be heroic, 

" In the world's broad field of battle," 

but also 

" In the bivouac of life." 

In house, shop, street, ship, every where he should keep 
diligently at his master's work. 

It is in this devoted spirit we find our revivalist traversing 
the "boundless sea." But why is he found there at all? 
10 109 



110 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

Why is he not moving in the quiet sphere of a village or city 
pastor ? Why does he encounter the dreary storm ? — The 
dangers and unpleasantness of the ocean waste ? Why goes 
he to another land ? Does he expect to be greeted by the 
open hands and burning hearts of affectionate friends ? Nay ! 
His friends are behind him. None but strangers will he 
meet on the shores to which be hastes. "Why then does he 
go at all ? 

Reader ! Our traveller believes God has a work for him 
to do in the British Islands. He travels as a special ambas- 
sador for Christ ! Faith in his call to this high mission is his 
only support. Inspired by this faith alone, he approaches a 
land already filled with ministers, many of whom rank far 
above him in position, influence, talent, learning, and skill ! 
How Quixotic and fanatical if self-inspired ! How sublime 
in his faith ! — how simple in his obedience if called of God ! 
But let us join him on this ocean voyage. 

On the 19th of July, 1841, I went aboard the steamer 
Britannia, Captain Clellan, and sailed about seven, P. M. 
I spent fifteen days in Halifax, preached eighteen sermons ; 
several sinners were converted to God, and one class-leader 
professed to have received the blessing of entire sanctifica- 
tion. I formed an acquaintance with some of the excellent 
of the earth in that city, several of whom accompanied me 
to the ship. No sooner had we cleared the harbor, than I 
began to be sick. The Lord favored us with fine weather 
till Saturday morning. That was a bleak morning to me. 
Nothing was to be seen but sky and water. Our ship was 
tossed about upon the angry waves like a feather. We 
could well believe the sentiment of a poet : 

:: The -wave behind impels the -wave before ; 
The waves that rise would drown the highest hill." 



THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. Ill 

Now the vessel was lying across the deep trough of two 
foaming billows, and again hanging on the dreadful steeps of 
a mountain wave. Sometimes both wheels were out of the 
water ; at others, one wheel would be buried deep in the 
troubled sea, while the other was several feet from the sur- 
face. It was astonishing to see under what perfect com- 
mand our engineer had the steam and machinery. The 
surgeon told me the greatest caution and vigilance were 
required to regulate the power in proportion to the dip of the 
wheels ; as error or neglect would, in a few moments, be 
attended with the most fatal consequences to the machinery. 

To lie in my berth I could not, to sit still when out of it 
was impossible ; so, with a few other determined spirits, I 
clambered to the hurricane deck. Here we walked, or ran, 
or staggered, or sprawled, according to the force of circum- 
stances ; and if some of these poor sinners had never read 
Psalm cvii. 23 — 28, they did at this time receive a most 
striking comment upon the passage. While some of us were 
battling with the tremendous motion, resolving to keep on 
our legs in spite of all the laws of gravitation, we amused 
ourselves with the reflection, if the sea does not succeed in 
finding us pleasure, we are quite sure it affords us employ- 
ment. 

I thought of the man who, when asked what were the first 
principles and principal parts of eloquence, replied, "Action ! 
action ! action !" If so, the deck of a ship in a storm is the 
place to learn action. There is not a gesture peculiar to the 
eloquent orator that he will not be forced to imitate, unless 
he cling to the bulwarks with his head over the side ; like 
some timid preachers I have seen, who seemed determined 
not to lose the pulpit although they might their argument. 
Head and arms, and legs and feet, are all in motion ; some- 
,; mes, indeed, not the most graceful, as, in " the storm and 



112 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

passion of the soul," it is diffiult to avoid " overstepping the 
modesty of nature ;" but some are the most graceful imagin- 
able. Nor should we forget the expression of the counte- 
nance at particular seasons, nor the eye in " fine frenzy 
rolling," all indicative of the strongest emotions in the region 
of the heart. If a man have acquired an awkward method 
of walking, this is the place to get clear of it, for here he is 
put through all the varieties of gait poor human nature is 
capable of. If he choose to indulge in soliloquies, and he 
will be much inclined to do so, he can relieve himself most 
pathetically without disturbing any body, as the most of those 
around him are as prone to the same indulgence as himself ; 
and the nimble winds will carry away his voice with the roar 
of the waves and rigging he knows not whither. Here he is 
" alone 'midst busy multitudes." 

And this is the spot to exercise the lungs, and give com- 
pass to the voice. Only let our soi-disant orator have an 
audience of two or three, and resolve to be heard ; if he sue 
ceed, he need never have any misgivings about making the 
most distant persons of thousands hear. I wondered that 
Demosthenes should have stood by the sea shore to exercise 
himself in oratory, amidst the roar of the waves ; had he 
only put out from the land when the storm was abroad upon 
the deep, he might have studied at one and the same time 
gesture and elocution. The promenade, or what some call 
the hurricane deck, is the place to exercise one's judgment, 
I mean during a gale. For instance, two or three dozen 
waves are coming on with the swiftness of race horses. Now 
the question is, what part of the vessel will they strike first ? 
On the starboard or larboard ? The head or stern ? In 
what direction is it likely the groaning ship will lurch ? 
What degree of inclination in the opposite direction will bo 
safest and most necessary to neutralize these " eccentrio 



THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 113 

laws of grav/tation ?" Shall I incline to the north or south, 
east or west ? At an angle of how many degrees ? Quick ! 
alas ! I am flat on the deck, or clinging to the bulwarks, 
holding on in desperation, while I am greatly at a loss 
whether to show ray displeasure at the outrageous laughter of 
my more fortunate companions, or at the fickle ship and 
unsteady elements, or retreat at once from the scene of my 
humiliation. The wisest way, however, is to do neither. 
Every mishap of this kind must be taken in good part ; and 
it is generally thought no small mark of talent and good 
breeding, when a man can gather himself up without embar- 
rassment, and rejoin the company in a manner the most 
graceful and easy. I assure you many have found it very 
difficult to avoid the indulgence of a secret wish, that the 
good ship would try an experiment upon some of the rest, 
especially the merry ones. Then here a man may learn 
how to treat the world, and it is a fine opportunity. If many 
are walking to and fro we must always be willing to go out 
of the straight line of an intended course, in order to avoid 
concussions with our fellow-travellers. We must bear and 
forbear, live and let live, and join hands sometimes to keep a 
poor fellow on his feet. If a lurch of the vessel has sent a 
fellow-passenger adrift, so that he has lost all authority over 
his limbs, do as you would be done by, catch him if you can, 
but if not without a violent collision, let him go, 

" To run, or walk, or swing, or tumble ; 
As matter and as motion jumble." 

This is the place to learn forbearance. If a friend crosses 
my path, and treats me to an upset, I must not get out of 
humor ; the enemies outside are to blame, and they don't 
care a farthing for our wrath. It is hard to feel quite right 
sometimes. For instance, a stupid fellow is gawking around, 
10* 



114 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

and not minding what he is about ; a sudden jerk, and away 
he conies like an avalanche, and " at one fell swoop " you 
are level with the deck ; and, if you keep your temper, you 
may reason with philosophic Locke, " If a greater force than 
mine holds me fast, or tumbles me down, I am no longer 
free." And if you have the good fortune to get clear of 
the grappling limbs of your vulgar companion, and have the 
privilege of shifting for yourself as you roll along, whether 
you will or not, you may experiment upon another plain 
principle of philosophy, laid down by a thinking man ; and 
if you are too busy in other matters I am sure the spectators 
will think for you : " When a man tumbles a roller down a 
hill, the man is the violent enforcer of the first motion ; but 
when it is once tumbling, the property of the thing itself con- 
tinues the motion." 

Well, the day passed away slowly. I am sure it was the 
most bleak and tedious day of my existence ; a day never to 
be forgotten. But the motion outside was nothing when 
compared with the " dread commotion of my interior self." 
Milton somewhere talks about 

" Prodigious motion felt, and rueful throes." 

I wonder if the poet was ever sea-sick. No one who has 
ever felt this "prodigious motion," and these "rueful 
throes," will ever wonder at the strong expressions of ano- 
ther poet : — 

" Cease, cease, thou foaming ocean, 
For what's thy troubled motion, 
To that within my breast ?" 

As night approached the wind lulled considerably, but strong 
necessity kept me on my feet till eleven o'clock. 

As I was pacing the deck with tolerable steadiness, a little 
man stepped up to me, and entered into conversation upon 



THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 115 

religious subjects. Perceiving that he loved to talk, and 
quite preferred to be the principal speaker, and not being 
much in the talking mood myself, his " ruling passion " had 
free scope. Finding me so teachable, he began to open his 
mind upon all subjects which he thought a man of my age 
should have long since understood. The character of his 
mind assumed a mongrel complexion, part Quaker and part 
Deist. War he abhorred, and all kinds of priestcraft ; and 
all priests were brimful of war and priestcraft, priests of 
every denomination. All denominations of Christians were 
wrong ; the Quakers were the nearest right, but somewhat 
astray also. I told him I entertained a very high respect 
for pious clergymen of all denominations. This aroused him, 
and he recapitulated his arguments, as he thought, in a most 
convincing manner. I then began to put the little man on 
the defensive, by proposing questions and starting objections, 
but carefully avoided affirming any thing. For a time, as I 
still retained the character of a learner, he retained his good 
humor ; but finding, what I before suspected, that it was 
much easier to ask questions than to answer them, he be- 
came very boisterous. His voice, not by any means pleas- 
ing, arose in shrillness to a squeak ; so if one storm had 
subsided, here was the beginning of another. It was very 
gratifying to him that I should be the humble pupil, but it 
became rather hazardous for the pupil to confound the tutor. 
The dilemma was sometimes most humiliating. After labor- 
ing hard upon some plain question, and that too with the 
generous prolixity of one who said on another occasion, " I 
know your mind, and I will satisfy it ; neither will I do it 
like a niggardly answerer, going no further than the bounds 
of the question." Poor fellow, going beyond "the bounds 
of the question" involved him again in other questions, 
until he found himself in such a labyrinth that he lost al) 



116 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

patience, and called me a " blockhead," " a most ignorant 
man," "exceedingly weak-minded," " incapable of under- 
standing or appreciating an argument," etc. 

I told him all that might be very true ; but, as I had 
placed myself in the capacity of a learner, he must not get 
out of humor with me, but have patience. Then, in great 
pity, he would again condescend to my weakness of intellect, 
and would try to make the thing appear as plain as ABC; 
but this gave rise to other objections, and he was driven to 
his wit's end to explain and defend some palpable contradic- 
tions. At last he exclaimed, " You are either a knave or 
a fool." 

I replied, in the height of good humor, "I do not feel 
greatly desirous of setting you right as to what I am, but I 
do assure you your self-conceit, to say the least, has involved 
you in the fog ; so that I will venture to say, you don't know 
to which point of the compass to steer for the rest of your 
argument." 

But I was quite mistaken. After calling me some hard 
names he steered for the stairway of the promenade deck 
and disappeared, to the no small amusement of one or two 
passengers who had kept close to our heels during the con- 
versation. I happened to be wrapped in my cloak that night, 
and concluded he would not know me in the day-time ; but 
he did, and was exceedingly shy for several days; but, 
before our voyage was over, he became very sociable, and 
never once recurred to our first acquaintance on the prom- 
enade deck. 

Another incident occurred one night, either before or 
after, I am not sure which. I was sitting in the saloon read- 
ing. A number of gentlemen had commenced on my right 
hand playing cards. I concluded not to retire, and continued 
reading. The author suggested a few thoughts, and as I 






THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 117 

was in the act of noting them down in my pocket-book, one 
of the party turned round from his cards and said, " You 
are making extracts, eh ? " 

I answered, Yes, and turned his attention to the Ixxiii. 
Psalm. I told him there was great beauty and majesty in 
the whole Psalm; but the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th verses 
were very significant : " When I thought to know this, it 
was too painful for me ; until I went into the sanctuary of 
God ; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set 
them in slippery places : thou castedst them down into de- 
struction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a 
moment ! they are utterly consumed with terrors." 

It appears, Sir ,, the Psalmist was pained, if not bewildered, 
on beholding the prosperity, apparent happiness and security, 
of ungodly men. He had been viewing them from various 
points of observation, but never could find his mind other 
than in a state of confusion respecting them, till he took his 
position in the sanctuary of God. You know, Sir, I con- 
tinued, that landscape painters have to change their position 
often before they are satisfied as to the best and most com- 
manding view of the scenery. One of these will wander up 
and down, from rock to rock, and from one jutting promon- 
tory to another, until he lights upon a spot which, above all 
others, affords the most superior view. So it was with the 
Psalmist, when his post of observation was " the sanctuary 
of God," where he had a commanding view of eternity ; 
heaven and hell were now spread before the eye of his faith ; 
then it was he saw the dreadful precipice, upon the slippery 
steeps of which the sinners of his day were sporting ; and 
he exclaimed, in a way he never could before, " Surely thou 
didst set them in slippery places ; thou castedst them down 
into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as 
in a moment ! they are utterly consumed with terrors." 



118 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

The cam player was \rery uneasy, and, as soon as I had 
closed my remarks, his head turned the other way, and he 
took good care not to ask me any more questions. He 
■ neither liked the position I occupied, nor was he satisfied 
with his own. Who knows but even this seed sown upon the 
waters of the broad Atlantic may yet spring up and bring 
forth fruit unto eternal life ? 

But to return. That stormy Saturday and its night passed 
away, as other days and nights have done, and a pleasant 
Sabbath succeeded. The captain requested me to preach 
to the passengers, which I did about eleven o'clock, to as 
many as the large saloon would hold. Text, Hebrews vii. 25. 
All were very attentive, God was there, and a very gracious 
influence seemed to rest upon every mind. I described 
Christ as the only acceptable medium of access to God : 
" Come unto God by him." Two ways of approach unto 
God were then pointed out. First. To come unto God for 
pardon and salvation. Second. To wait till we are driven 
to be judged and damned. I insisted that God and the sin- 
ner must meet in this world or the next. That the man 
who will not come unto God to be pardoned must at last 
suffer the driving process. He must be driven to God for 
judgment, and from thence into hell. Again : That it was 
just as possible to be damned in coming to God in a forbid- 
den manner, as in not coming at all ; and commented upon 
the sixteenth chapter of Numbers. 

My second proposition was the encouragement we have to 
come unto God by Christ. First. His ability to save, 
"He is able," etc. Second. His willingness, " He ever 
liveth to make intercession for us." An interceding Jesus 
proves he is a willing Saviour. Third. The extent to which 
his ability and willingness can go to save us, " To the utter- 
most." Concluded with an exhortation. 



THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 119 

I did not intend it, but I have scribbled away till, lo ! you 
have the outline of my first sermon on the Atlantic. At the 
close of the service the captain invited me to preach to the 
crew, which I did after dinner. It was very sweet and 
solemn to hear the tolling of the ship's bell. Many of the 
passengers mingled with the sailors. The vessel rolled about, 
but I contrived to stand pretty firmly, while discussing 
Hebrews xi. 7. Thus ended the feeble labors of another 
blessed Sabbath of my existence. 

On Monday the waves ran very high, but I had become 
quite a sailor ; had some pleasant conversations with several 
of the passengers, and spent part of the day in assisting 
a German to the right pronunciation of some English words 
with which he had great difficulty. 

The weather continued rough, and the restless sea, oh ! 
what shall I say ? 

" Wave rolling after wave in torrent rapture !" 

But day and night our fine steamer never paused. Onward she 
pressed to her port amidst a thousand insults. The prophet 
Habakkuk speaks of the " deep uttering his voice, and lift- 
ing up his hands on high." Many-fisted waves were lifted 
up, and thousands of them would come rushing on in rapid 
succession, like so many giants, each more eager than the 
other to strike and overwhelm her ; some would fetch her a 
blow right in the face, and half a dozen on the side of the 
head ; while others threw themselves entire upon her ; bat 
rolling and staggering, she mounted upon their backs and 
" ran through a troop," while thousands of her enemies fell 
beneath 

" Those fleshless arms, whose pulses beat 
With floods of living fire !" 



120 THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. 

In the midnight hour or at the morning dawn we could hear 

" The beating of her restless heart, 
Still sounding through the storm ! " 

As we were flying along the face of the waters, reflect- 
ing that seven days had nearly passed away since we lost 
sight of the American continent, we were cheered with the 
exclamation, "Land! land!" and "land! land!" was 
re-echoed from every part of the ship. In a short time we 
Were close upon the northern coast of Ireland ; and about 
dark we ran down between Torry Island and Ireland, in the 
midst of an angry sea. The moment we lost our hold upon 
any part of the vessel we were dashed about like footballs. 
Next morning we were still close upon the shores of Ireland ; 
and in the course of a few hours we found ourselves running 
along the coast of Wales. The pleasant hills of old England 
rapidly opened to our view, with Liverpool in the distance. 
After a pause of a few minutes, in order to receive a pilot, 
we entered the river Mersey, and landed about seven o'clock 
on the evening of the 29th of July. We made the passage 
from Halifax to Liverpool in not quite ten days ; the quick- 
est, I have been informed, on record. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE DENOUEMENT t 

Theee is something exquisitely touching in thfe simple and 
natural narration, which Mr. Caughey has given below, of 
his mental exercises on arriving at Liverpool. Guided by 
an impression, which worldly men and formal professors 
would treat with positive contempt, and which even truly 
spiritual minds would regard with a degree of suspicion, he 
had left his quiet pastorate in Vermont, buffeted the violence 
of the ocean's storms, and arrived in the land which was 
divinely designated as the theatre of his future successes. 
But, who would believe in his mission ? Who would put faith 
in an impression, which, however potent and authoritative to 
his own mind, could have little weight with others, especially 
with strangers. Indeed, to confess the cause of his coming 
would certainly render him obnoxious to the charge of enthu- 
siasm. Knowing all this, is it wonderful that a spirit of sad- 
ness took possession of his heart ? Can we feel surprised 
to read that a sense of loneliness, a feeling of perplexity, an 
apprehension of evil disturbed his spirit ? Nay ! All this 
was perfectly in accordance with human nature ; while, the 
degree of serenity he did retain, the patience with which he 
waited for God to open an effectual door, and, above all, the 
tenacity with which his heart clung to the reality of his call, 
and the certainty of his final success, exhibit him in an 
aspect of true moral sublimity ; of holy heroism ; of a man 
11 121 



122 THE DENOUEMENT. 

whose convictions of duty are intelligent, sincere, endurin| 
and any thing but the offspring of fanaticism. But we mua* 
let him relate his own interesting story of his emotions, as he 
walked the streets of Liverpool and followed the guiding hand 
of God. He says : — 

All are strangers, and every thing is strange. I have 
walked from street to street, and from place to place, un- 
knowing and unknown. Although I have prayed without 
ceasing, it is no easy matter to keep my heart from sinking 
intc despondency ; but, as I have experienced this state of 
mind so frequently before some remarkable success in my 
ministry, it does not much discourage me, although it is pain- 
ful. I have not, as yet, formed a single acquaintance in 
Liverpool, if I except my good landlord of the Saracen's 
Head Hotel ; who, by the way, is an excellent man, and 
keeps a very good house, as good as any Christian traveller 
could require. I have found his family prayer very profit- 
able to my soul. I enjoyed sweet communion with God 
during the voyage, with a very deep sense of my entire 
nothingness. Often did I think when walking the deck, If 
God did not intend to make the weak things of the world 
confound the things which are mighty ; and base things, and 
things which are despised, and things which are not, to bring 
to nought things that are ; he never would have chosen and 
called me, nor have sent me forth on this solemn and impor- 
tant tour. 

What is before me I know not, but I deeply feel there are 
sore trials approaching. My mind is very unsettled as to 
what course I ought to take, or where I should open my 
commission ; but my soul is calmly awaiting orders from 
above. Several times to-day I have had thoughts of going 
immediately into France and Italy, as this is the best season 



THE DENOUEMENT. 123 

of the year to see those countries ; but a voice in my solitary 
heart seems to say, " No, if you go there now, you must 
go alone, for God will not go with you." My heart con- 
stantly replies, Then if God will not go with me there, God 
forbid I should attempt it. As it is written, " The steps of 
a good man are ordered by the Lord." I have some confi- 
dence that God is by this method controlling and ordering 
my steps ; but he commands me no where, and I am doing 
nothing for God here. There is nothing to be seen that 
would afford me any comfort so long as I do not see lost sin- 
ners coming home to God. 

The English Conference is now sitting in Manchester ; I 
am undecided whether to visit it or not. The preachers, no 
doubt, will be all engaged ; and, as I have no particular 
business there, I should be as much alone as here. I must 
close this letter in a state of entire uncertainty respecting 
my providential path. My soul is sitting at God's footstool, 
having no will, but referring all to him, saying, " Lord, 
God, if thou hast sent me forth, direct my goings." 

These statements open his heart to our inspection at a 
most interesting period of his movements. And this is one 
of Mr. C.'s peculiarities. Not only in his writings, but also 
in social life and in the pulpit, he is remarkable for the 
transparency of his character. He seems to have nothing 
to conceal, and is willing you should look into the secret 
workings of his soul. How delightful, too, is the place and 
position of his soul at this trying period, " Sitting at God's 
footstool, having no will." He did not have to sit thus a 
great while. A faint light guided him to Manchester. He 
describes his visit thither in the following language : — 

On the afternoon, after much prayer, I started for Man- 



124 THE DENOUEMENT. 

Chester by railroad, arrived there about dark, and put up at 
the Star Hotel. Next day, Sabbath, I heard the Rev. Dr. 
Bunting. High as were my expectations, I was not disap- 
pointed. His sermon was a clear and beautiful exposition 
of that striking text, Hebrews ii. 10. It was just such a 
discourse as only a master in Israel could preach. The 
Doctor appeared in excellent health, and was listened to 
with breathless attention. In the evening, at another chapel, 
I heard the Rev. John M'Lean, on Romans x. 4, and was 
highly delighted. I was exceedingly pleased with the man, 
his manner, and his language. There was a gracious unc- 
tion in every part of the sermon. I am sure much good was 
done, and could he have stayed at the prayer-meeting which 
followed the sermon, and assisted the brethren by his pres- 
ence and influence " to draw the net ashore," I am per- 
suaded a multitude would have been entangled within its 
ample sweep. As it was, a few came forward to be prayed 
for, but none appeared to have the influence of Mr. M'Lean. 
The people gradually left the house, and, I think, none were 
converted to God. I mourned about it, still I believe it did 
not return unto the Lord void ; but the frequent failures of 
such powerful discourses, as it regards the immediate gather- 
ing in of awakened sinners, have made me suspicious, 

I formerly cast out the net in this way and retired, with- 
out taking the trouble to see whether any soul had got 
entangled therein : and for months together I was not aware 
of a single seal to my ministry. The brethren would often 
say, "We are on the eve of a powerful revival," but when 
next Sabbath came, sinners were as far from God as ever, 
and were once more ready to play around and inside my 
harmless net. At last I came to the determination that I 
would stand by my net with tears and many prayers, and 
that I would not leave the fishing-place till I had seen what 



THE DENOUEMENT. 125 

success. Then it was I began to see, more abundantly, the 
positive fruit of my labors. Sometimes, indeed, we have 
" toiled all night," and have " caught nothing ;" but then 
we had this satisfaction, The net has been drawn ashore, and 
we have done the best we could ; the fish have escaped this 
time, but next Sabbath, by the help of the Holy Ghost, I 
will endeavor to have my net ready to let down " on the 
right side of the ship," so constructed, and of such materials, 
that sinners will find it difficult to run through it or get dis- 
entangled from it. There is much meaning in that invitation 
and promise which Jesus gave to Simon, and Andrew his 
brother, as they were casting their net into the sea of Gal- 
ilee, " Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers 
of men." 

Is there not also an important lesson in that singular illus- 
tration used by our Lord, in the thirteenth of Matthew: 
" The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast 
into the sea, and gathered of every kind, which, when it was 
full, they drew to shore, and sat down and gathered the 
good into vessels, but cast the bad away ?" When a minis- 
ter's health will allow him, and suitable persons are willing 
to assist, a lively prayer meeting after the evening sermon 
greatly promotes the design of the Christian ministry. 

On Monday I heard the Rev. Robert Newton preach what 
is called the " Conference sermon," text, 1 Cor. i. 23. The 
chapel was literally crammed. He carried us along on the 
majestic stream of his eloquence during an hour, and closed 
amidst hearty expressions of satisfaction and joy, especially 
from his admiring brethren in the ministry. Mr. Newton 
looked quite as well as when I saw him in New York, in 
1839. In the evening, the candidates for ordination related 
their conversion and call to the work of the ministry, before 
a rery crowded audience. 
11* 



126 THE DENOUEMENT. 






Next day I sent my ordination parchments into Confer- 
ence, with the recommendatory letter of my Conference, 
when a ticket of admittance was sent me, signed by the Presi- 
dent, the Rev James Dixon. Here I became acquainted 
with several of the preachers. The Rev. William Lord, of 
Hull, showed me great kindness, and gave me a pressing 
invitation to visit that town. I was introduced to the Rev. 
Thomas Waugh, and the Rev. William Stewart, representa- 
tives from the Irish Conference. Mr. Waugh received me 
with all that full-toned ardor which is so peculiarly Irish. 
His heart was open to me in a moment ; and learning that I 
intended to visit Ireland, he took his pen, and wrote me a 
letter of introduction to all the Wesleyan Methodist ministers 
in Ireland. Mr. Stewart is the most agreeable and enter- 
taining companion I have ever met. It would be impossible 
for you to be in his company five minutes without thinking 
of Proverbs iii. 17. 

After the pleasure of dining with several members of Con 
ference, among whom was Dr. Hannah, once, you will 
remember, the representative to the American general Con- 
ference, I stepped into a railway carriage, and arrived once 
more in Liverpool. It was then strongly impressed upon my 
mind to sail for Dublin, although I did not know a human 
being there. After much prayer I felt fully persuaded that 
this was the path of Providence. When walking towards 
the docks, I noticed that two steamers were to sail that 
evening ; and as the charge for a cabin passage in one was 
only half as much as the other, I chose the cheapest, and for 
once in my life I paid dearly for my economy. We encoun- 
tered a very heavy gale during the night ; some of the pas- 
sengers were much alarmed, but I slept most profoundly till 
morning. A gentleman came down into the cabin before I 
arose, and said, " We have a heavy gale, and it is right in 



THE DENOUEMENT. 127 

»ur teeth. The wind says to our steamer, No, and the en- 
gine says, Yes, faintly. We are making about two miles an 
hour." On going upon deck, to my surprise, we were 
only creeping along the coast of Wales ; our progress had 
been very slow during the night, as we were only a few 
miles from Liverpool. Now I found out my mistake ; instead 
of taking the mail steamer I had gone aboard a heavy freight- 
boat. During the gale I resorted to my old method of deck 
walking, but a few steps convinced me this must be aban- 
doned. 

Well, if I could not use my feet, I held on with my hands, 
and gave employment to my eyes, in scanning the mountain- 
ous scenery of Wales. We had terrible tossings along the 
coast of the Isle of Anglesea. 

After gaining Holyhead we steered with a straight course 
for Dublin, at which place we landed about midnight. I put 
up at the hotel of the Northumberland Buildings. Next 
morning I arose in good health, but with great mournfulness 
of spirit. Throughout the day my mind was sorely de- 
pressed. I thought j of what the Lord said to the Israelites : 
" Ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers 
in the land of Egypt." The day was wet, the streets ex- 
tremely dirty, and wherever I went I was surrounded with 
swarms of the most importunate beggars. Their pleadings 
for help against hunger and distress were the most doleful 
you could imagine. After some difficulty, I found the 
preacher's house in Whitefriar's street. On presenting Mr. 
Waugh's letter of introduction, I was received with great 
kindness by the Rev. Robinson Scott. A few moments in 
his company convinced me, this man is entirely devoted to 
God ; and an acquaintance of several weeks has confirmed 
and deepened the impression. After a short conversation, 
which greatly cheered my mind, he conducted me to Lower 



128 THE DENOUEMENT. 

Abbey street, and introduced me to the junior preacher, the 
Rev. George Vance. With him my heart was united in a 
few moments. Thus, in the same day, I formed an acquaint- 
ance with two servants of God, which every day's intercourse 
endears, and for which, I believe, I shall praise God through- 
out eternity. A few days after, I had the pleasure of being 
introduced to their excellent colleague, the Rev. Henry 
Price. On Saturday night, after I had retired to rest, Mr. 
Vance called at the hotel, and requested me to preach the 
next day at the Henderick street chapel, to which I agreed. 
Next morning my soul was sorely buffeted by Satan. 
" Your adversary the devil," says St. Peter, " as a roaring 
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." He 
roared against my soul. The forty-second Psalm, and the 
following lines, express what I then felt : — 

As pants the wearied hart for cooling springs, 
That sinks exhausted in the summer's chase, 

So pants my soul for thee, great King of kings, 
So thirsts to reach thy secret resting place. 

On briny tears my famished soul hath fed, 
While taunting foes deride my deep despair; 

Say, where is now thy Great Deliverer, 
Thy mighty God, deserted wanderer, where ? 

Why throb, my heart ? Why sink, my saddened soul ? 

Why droop to earth, with various woes oppressed ? 
My years shall yet in blissful circles roll, 

And joy be yet an inmate of my breast. 

I know this experience will not surprise you, for our 
blessed Lord said to his disciples, " My soul is exceeding 
sorrowful, even unto death." I had no doubt of the favor 
of God, nor that the blood of Christ had cleansed me from 
all sin, but my soul was like the grapes in the wine-press. 
Have you ever read those beautiful lines of Rev. Charles 



THE DENOUEMENT. 129 

Wesley, descriptive of the mental conflicts of Thomas Walsh, 
who died in this city many years ago ? 

Impatient to be truly great, 

Ambitious of a crown above ; 
He coveted tbe highest seat, 

He asked the gift of perfect love. 

He asked, alas ! but knew not then, 

The purport of his own desire, 
How deep that cup of sacred pain, 

How searching that baptismal fire. 

The Lord allowed his bold request, 

The servant is called forth to share 
That anguish of a wounded breast, 

Those pangs, which only God could bear. 

Who drank in his sad days of flesh, 

The potion by his Father given, 
And bids his members feel afresh, 

The fierceness of the wrath of Heaven. 

A taste of that mysterious cup, 

His faithful follower now received, 
And filled his Lord's afflictions up, 

While grief beyond description 



The above is perhaps too strong for my experience at thi3 
time, but my soul was amazed and sorely tried. 

After taking breakfast with a few pious persons, at Mr. 
"Vance's lodgings in Abbey street, a young brother conducted 
me to Henderick street. The congregation was small. To 
them, for the first time in Europe, I opened my commission, 
from John xvii. 1 : " Father ! the hour is come." The Lord 
touched the hearts of several, and a gracious influence rested 
on the whole congregation. At the conclusion of the ser- 
vice I quietly retired through a door under the pulpit, and 
regained the street, little imagining the stir which had been 
excited among the dear people in the chapel. Some were 



130 THE DENOUEMENT, 

saying, " Who is lie ?" others, " What is his name ?" One 
little party were inquiring, " Who sent him here ?" and 
another, were fully of opinion that " this stranger should be 
invited to preach again at night." 

In the mean time I and my guide were hastening back 
again to Abbey street chapel, to receive the sacrament. 
Two brethren, Wilham Fielding and Richard Craig, who 
have since been very valuable friends to me, were dispatched 
after us, and when they overtook us they presented the wish 
of the people. I consented on condition it should be agree- 
able to the preachers. They soon obtained permission, and 
that night I preached to a large congregation with a good 
degree of liberty. An influence from heaven rested upon 
the leaders ; and, after a consultation with their ministers, it 
was resolved to hold " special services " during the week, 
" to promote a revival of the work of God." I agreed to 
preach four nights, but with the secret determination to leave 
the following week. I left the hotel on receiving a pressing 
invitation from Mr. Fielding to make his house my home. 
Towards the latter part of the week we found ourselves sur- 
rounded with weeping penitents. The glory of the Lord 
filled the house, and sinners were daily converted to Gocl. 
We continued these services in this chapel during four weeks. 
A select meeting was then appointed for the young converts, 
and one hundred and thirty persons came forward to testify 
that God, for Christ's sake, had pardoned all their sins. 

All the young converts were very clear as to the distinct 
manner in which they had been awakened, as well as in the 
time and place of their conversion. This will be of no small 
assistance to them in their future conflicts, if they prove faith 
ful. A Christian has great advantage over the enemy of 
his soul, when he can confidently refer to the precise place 
and exact time of his adoption into the family of God. My 



THE DENOUEMENT. 131 

soul was much comforted in beholding such an affecting scene. 
The language of my heart was, — 

" Who, I ask, in amaze, 
Hath begotten me these ? 
And inquire from what quarter they came : 
My full heart it replies, 
They are born from the skies, 
And gives glory to God and the Lamb." 

It would be impossible, my dear friend, to tell you how 
severe were my mental trials during the four weeks I spent 
in this chapel. Sometimes it did appear as though the devil 
would have torn me to pieces. Fiery darts were cast at me 
as thick as hail. My soul was almost continually pressed 
down by a weight that was scarcely supportable ; and yet 
the adversary could not touch either my justification or 
sanctification. His evident design was to drive me out of 
the city. He constantly insisted, " You shall not be per- 
mitted to enjoy any comfort in Dublin, so you had better be 
off." The Lord, I believe, on the other hand, showed me, 
if I would leave before he gave me liberty, I should be no 
better off in any other place. I therefore determined to 
fight it out, and bear patiently the grievous curses of this 
infernal Shimei, 2 Samuel xvi. ; and curse me he did, by 
day and night, from street to street, in the pulpit and out of 
it ; but I continued, with all my might, to win sinners to 
Christ. He never insinuated that he would have me in hell, 
nor that I was a hypocrite, nor any thing of the kind ; but, 
that if I would injure his kingdom, he would injure me ; that, 
if I should keep up hostilities, he would do the same ; and, 
at least, deprive me of all comfort. Allow me, however, my 
dear friend, to say, that I was often compelled to acknowl- 
edge : — 

" Calm amidst tremendous motion, 
Knowing that my Lord is nigh; 

Waves obey him, 
And the storms before him fly." 



132 THE DENOUEMENT. 

At a particular time, I opened on Ezekiel xlvii. 3 — 5, 
which gave me great encouragement. The first real check 
the devil received from God was when I was walking in the 
Phoenix Park, near the citj. God then came down upon 
my soul in mighty power. The enemy was silenced, and 
I rejoiced " with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Satan 
returned again with more caution and less confidence. God 
then put a hook in his jaws, and said, " Thus far thou shalt 
go, but no farther." There were other particular seasons of 
divine visitations to my soul, in which God " half revealed 
Ills face." The consciousness of the immediate presence of 
God to my soul was deep and unutterable. 

You will remember that I related to you some gracious 
revealings of a spiritual nature, before I left America, in 
which I thought God condescended to converse with my 
spirit, and gave me many special directions for the guidance 
both of my present and future movements. It was in the 
same manner, though far clearer, and with greater power 
and unction, an invisible agent seemed to hold conversation 
with my soul ; in which promises, directions, and encourage- 
ments, were given in quick succession. My spirit was often 
as still as the midnight hour, and the communings of an 
active agent were as perceptible as any conversation I ever 
had with a visible friend. More I cannot venture to say at 
present. Of this I am persuaded, I shall see some striking 
displays of the power of God in the conversion of sinners. 
The following came with uncommon force : " I will be with 
thee whithersoever thou shalt go, to deliver thee." Also 
the passage, John xiv. 21 — 23. 

The state of my soul during these divine visitations was 
that of deep self-abasement. A solemn and an oppressive 
awe rested upon my whole nature ; yet, strange as it may 
appear, my soul was weaker than a bruised reed. The more 



THE DENOUEMENT. 133 

firmly I believed and rested upon the divine promises and 
counsels, the more I gained strength ; and when such man- 
ifestations in a great measure ceased, I received in their 
place a larger measure of the perfect love of God. But 
you are ready to inquire, " Had you no doubts whether such 
communications came from God ? " No, I cannot say I had, 
they came in such a way, and with such an holy unction, as 
to leave no room for doubts. I may also add there was 
nothing in them to excite my suspicion, nothing contrary to 
the written word of God ; if so, I should have rejected them 
with horror ; nothing that did not lead to purity and entire 
devotedness to God. 

When the Rev. Thomas Waugh, the Superintendent of 
this Circuit, returned from England, he was made acquainted 
with the amazing work of God going on. He immediately 
sanctioned my movements, placed the fullest confidence in 
me, and told me to go on hi my own way. From then till 
now he has been ever ready to open any door of usefulness 
to me within his power; I thank God for such a friend. 
This long communication, which I know will rejoice your 
heart, as well as many of my other dear friends in America, 
I must now close. The revival is going on in another chapel 
with great power. Between two and three hundred sinners 
have been converted to God. Glory, eternal glory, be to 
that God, who 

* * * " Moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform ; " 

and who, adored be his name ! can, — 

" Though hell weaves snares a thousand ways, 
Place mercy central in the maze ! " 

My friends may make themselves perfectly easy respect- 
ing my temporal circumstances ; I have all and abound 
12 



134 THE DENOUEMENT. 

The Dublin people are proverbial for their hospitality to 

strangers ; but I can say of them, as the queen of Shot a 

said of the wisdom of Solomon, " Behold, the half was not 

told me." 

* * * * * * * # * 

Yesterday was a gracious day to my soul in the Abbey 
street chapel. The interior is spacious and elegant, has a 
fine organ, and the congregation is second to none I have 
ever seen, either in respectability or intelligence. My morn- 
ing text was Deut. viii. 2. Many acknowledged, with stream- 
ing eyes, the mercies of God, and the designs of his provi- 
dence. In the afternoon fifty persons, who had been con- 
verted lately in this chapel, came forward to give public 
thanks to God for his pardoning love. At night, to a congre- 
gation of not less than two thousand, I cried, " How long 
halt ye between two opinions ?" &c. 1 Kings xviii. 21. It 
was an awful time ; seventy persons came forward as peni- 
tents, and many found mercy. 

In the midst of these successful labors Mr. Caughey's 
mind was subjected to an unusually severe temptation from 
Satan. He viewed this assault as a part of the tactics of 
the Great Enemy of all good to hinder the revival in Dublin. 
He therefore met the adversary with boldness ; he endured 
hardness like a good soldier until he won a victory. To the 
editor, these spiritual traits are among the most interesting 
portions of his letters. They illustrate so encouragingly 
the sameness of m inisterial experience, and furnish a fine 
example of fidelity and endurance. Who can behold Mr. 
Caughey, amidst these Satanic floods, rising as they did in 
furious waves, standing firmly on the " Rock of ages," 
steadily keeping his great work in view, and laboring with a 
zeal which increased with the magnitude of the storm, with- 
out being stimulated to a corresponding boldness ? But let 



THE DENOUEMENT. 135 

us listen to his own descriptions of his mental state under 
thi3 trial. He says of it : — 

God has in a great measure silenced the enemy. Satan 
found it of no use ; out of Dublin I would not go while God 
was converting souls. He pressed me very sore, but this 
goaded me to greater ardor in the cause of God. The mors 
he harassed me with temptations, the more I was enabled 
to prevail against his kingdom. His file was very rough, 
but by it my soul became the brighter, and obtained 
a keener edge and livelier sensibilities. His fire was 
very intense, trying and searching the inmost of the soul. 
What one said of the old blacksmith, my poor soul could say 
of the adversary, " Every morning he rises fresh to his 
hammer and his anvil ;" but this only nerved me for "my 
turn, ,, and made me more resolute in attempting to over- 
throw his strongholds. Oh, help me to praise the Lord ! 
for he could say to angels, and men, and devils, when point- 
ing to Dublin, " Is not my word like as a fire, and like a 
hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ? " Jer. xxiii. 29. 

I am far mistaken if the devil has not considered Dublin 
the pass to the three kingdoms ; and, perhaps, of as much 
importance to his kingdom, as Thermopylae was to the Gre- 
cians. How then could I expect him to 

" Give quiet pass 
Through his dominions for this enterprize ?" 

Glory be to God ! we have got possession of the pass. God 
has fought for us, and the slain of the Lord are many. The 
revival is going on with power, but I cannot tell you the ex- 
act number converted to God since the date of my last letter to 
you ; but I think not less than one hundred and fifty. I am 
sorry to inform you that the work of entire sanctification ad- 
vances very slowly. Many seem to be earnestly seeking pu- 



136 THE DENOUEMENT. 






rity of heart, but I do not remember that any person has, as 
yet, distinctly professed its attainment during the revival. I 
greatly fear there must be something grievously deficient in 
my method of preaching it, else God would surely raise up 
his witnesses for this doctrine as well as for that of justi- 
fication. The one is as much a New Testament privilege as 
the other. 

Yesterday, (Sabbath,) after taking breakfast with the 
" Strangers' Friend Society," I walked over to the Hend 
rick street chapel to preach. On my arrival, every counte- 
nance wore the hues of sorrow. One of their old leaders, 
Mr. William Haughton, had just departed for heaven, and 
their hearts were oppressed with grief. I could not well 
chide them, as his gain was indeed a loss to them, which, in 
the first shock of the news, they knew not how to sustain. 
All seemed to feel that his place could never be supplied. 
During thirty years he had been a father to that society. 
The excitement was increased by the presence of the mem- 
bers of his six classes, mingling their tears and sighs together, 
as children for the death of a most beloved parent. 

Instead of taking the subject I had intended, I chose Rev. 
vi. 13 — 17 ; and never, never have I seen such a weeping 
congregation. Their tears and sobs would have softened a 
heart of stone. Suddenly, like a burst of sunshine on a 
summer's afternoon, when the rains have ceased, an influ- 
ence, evidently from God, came down upon the people. The 
Lord seemed to open heaven to the view of his saints ; at 
least, the veil became so transparent that hundreds felt, 
during thirty or forty minutes, as if they were surrounded 
with the glories of the celestial world. The church militant 
and the church triumphant appeared to unite in a manner \h 
is not possible to describe. I cannot, I dare not attempt it, 
not even the language given me in that hour. Oh, what 



THE DENOUEMENT. 137 

vdews of God and heaven filled my amazed soul ! It was 
what one has elsewhere called, " A vision of glory;" such 
as, perhaps, none of us ever had before, nor may ever have 
again, till " mortality is swallowed up of life." 

The service was closed, and every countenance wore a 
calm, heavenly expression, as if each was saying in his or her 
heart, — 

" There is a world where winter comes not, 

Where a farewell enters never, 
Where no clouds the atmosphere blot, 

And, no changes our friendship sever. 
That world is the home of the soul, 
And Oh ! how swiftly it flies to the goal. 

There sorrow's note is never heard, 

No storm a rose-leaf ever stirred, 
But strains on harps of heavenly sound, 
And songs ecstatic breathe around." 

The last Sabbath night this holy man spent upon earth 
was in Abbey street chapel. The crowd was great, and he 
stood with his eyes fixed upon me during the whole sermon. 
At the close of the prayer meeting he stood upon a bench, 
and gave the people his last exhortation, and sung that verse, 
which I believe was his favorite, — 

" When Jesus makes my heart his home, 

My sin shall all depart ; 
And, lo ! he saith, I quickly come, 
To fill and rule thy heart." 

Next Sabbath night, about that time, he was in the " house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." I visited 
him a day or two before he died. On approaching his bed, 
such an influence came upon me as melted me into tears in a 
moment. I felt God was there, and that a warrior of our 
Israel had entered upon his last battle with the enemy. He 
reached out his hand and said, " Tell the congregation the 
following is my experience : — 
12* 



138 THE DENOUEMENT. 

" ' He breaks the power of cancelled sin, 
He sets the prisoner free ; 
His blood can make the foulest clean, 
His blood availed for me.' " 

One day, when sitting together in his little parlor, a few 
weeks before he was taken with his last sickness, he said to 
me, " I have often stood upon yonder bridge, and looked at the 
figure of Hope, on the dome of the Custom House, leaning upon 
her anchor, with her face turned towards the troubled sea, as 
if in anxious but confident expectation of the fingering ship ; 
soon after, I have seen the weather-beaten vessel entering the 
harbor, badly shattered by the storm, rigging disordered, and 
sails riven into shreds ; and it is thus, I have thought, that 
hope cheers the soul on the stormy ocean of life, and calmly 
encourages the billow-tossed Christian to hasten into the 
harbor of glory ; when, lo ! the weather-beaten servant of 
God, shattered by time and storms, dashes into the port, 
where hope had so long had her anchor cast within the vail.'* 
He little thought he was just then sailing so near the coast of 
heaven, nor that he should so suddenly dart into the harbor 
of eternal rest. Mr. Haughton also informed me, that m 
the little parlor alluded to, Mr. Wesley had often taken 
breakfast with the Dublin preachers ; and that, when a boy ? 
in the same place, he had often swung upon the knees of thai 
venerable saint. 

• It will be interesting to my American friends to know that 
this is the famous little room where the Rev. John Summer- 
field was converted to God. The spot where he obtained 
remission of sins, and the hearth-stone upon which he stood, 
when giving his first exhortation, were pointed out to me by 
Mrs. Haughton, who was one of the praying company to 
whom the address was delivered. Ah ! I thought, in this 
humble room arose that " burning and shining light," who 



THE DENOUEMENT 1 39 

became the wonder of America, the glory of Christ, and 
one of the brightest ornaments of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Hundreds of thousands were enraptured by his 
eloquence ; and many, very many, were the seals of his 
ministry. 

I had an awful time the other night in one of the chapels, 
on this text, Rev. xiv. 9 — 11, and, just as we were singing 
that verse, — 

" Ye virgin souls arise, 
m # * 

Oil in your vessels take," — 

all the lights went out except two candles on the side of 
the pulpit. This unexpected extinguishment of twelve bril- 
liant gas lights was a very curious coincidence, and the 
effect was really awful, as the minds of sinners were predis- 
posed to strong sensations by the text, sermon, and hymn. 
Many trembled, but there was no confusion. Afterwards 
nine or ten sinners were converted to God in the prayer 
meeting. 

A very remarkable conversion, in answer to prayer, has 
lately taken place, which I know will interest you. A 
young lady, a few weeks since, arrived in this city from Eng- 
land, on a visit to her friends. Shortly after she was in- 
duced to attend the services ; the word reached her heart, 
and, after a severe and deep repentance, Grod spoke peace to 
her soul. In the simplicity of her heart she wrote an ac- 
count of her conversion t© her mother, in Liverpool, and 
desired liberty to unite herself with the Methodist church, 
little suspee+ing the natural enmity of the unrenewed heart. 
Her mother, a high-spirited, unconverted woman, felt an 
instant indignation against her daughter ; wrote to her im- 
mediately, ridiculed the revival, forbade her joining the 
Methodists, reproached her for her weakness of mind, and 



140 THE DENOUEMENT. 

ordered her home. The young lady, alarmed at the tone ot 
the letter ? sent a note to the pulpit, stating the case in a deli- 
cate way, and requesting my prayers, and those of the con- 
gregation, for the conversion of her mother. We fell down 
before God ; faithful and united prayer was offered, in which, 
I believe, every pious soul joined. 

A few days after, a letter arrived from Liverpool, giving 
an account of the mother's conversion. ■ On the night " the 
prayer of faith" was offered to God, she was awakened to 
see herself a sinner on the brink of hell. " During the 
night," said she, "I felt as if I was in a furnace of fire." 
The next morning God converted her soul. In that letter 
she humbly asked forgiveness of her daughter, and the same 
from me, although she had never seen me ; but it was on ac- 
count of what she had said against the revival ; and concluded 
by giving her liberty to join the Methodists as soon as she 
pleased, as she intended to do the same herself. 

On the 17th of last month, (November, 1841,) I visited, 
with a few friends, the castle of Dublin. It happened to 
be the day of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland's levee. It 
was held at the Castle. We had to make our way through 
two companies of sentinels ; and, after much difficulty, were 
permitted to stand in the hall of the grand entrance, where 
we had a fine view of the visiters. About thirteen hundred 
of the aristocracy of Ireland paid their respects to his lord- 
ship. They were all arrayed in rich court dresses, distinc- 
tive of their rank and station ; whether officers of state, 
bishops, archbishops, or inferior clergy ; private gentlemen, 
officers of the army, members of the city university, or of 
other institutions of the country. The scene was very ani- 
mated and imposing. The band of the Royal Hussars was 
stationed in the Upper Castle Yard, and 

" Discoursed sweet music." 



THE DENOUEMENT. 141 

A party of the 45th regiment lined the hall, and a variety of 
inferior officers were stationed at the different entrances. 
We waited, with some interest, to see the newly-elected Lord 
Mayor of Dublin, the celebrated Daniel O'Connell. His 
carriage drove up, tastefully ornamented with green and 
yellow. He ascended the grand stairway, followed by the 
new members of the Corporation, dressed in scarlet cloaks. 
We had a good view of O'Connell, as he stood upon one of 
the landings, waiting his turn to be presented. He was 
dressed in his civic robe, in his hand the wand of office, and 
on his left stood the bearer of the mace. Health, happiness, 
good humor, and independence, appeared as if holding a 
levee upon what a poet calls " the temper of his face." He 
seemed well pleased with himself, and perfectly so with every 
body and every thing around him. 

After leaving the hall we got entangled in a net, y^hich 
cost us much trouble before we were liberated. No sooner 
had we passed the castle gate than we were inclosed in the 
midst of thousands ; many of them the lowest of human 
society. Nothing was heard but the cheering and shouting 
of the multitude, cracking of whips, prancing of horses, 
bawling of coachmen, and jambing and crashing of carriages ; 
some of them two or three deep, struggling which should 
first enter the gate. The scene was frightful. It was often 
doubtful whether we should be crushed by a coach and 
horses, or trampled down by the mob. To retreat, was im- 
possible ; to go forward, equally so. At last a providential 
way opened and we escaped. When walking home we found 
the line of coaches yet to enter, a mile in length. 

# * * * * 

The Wesleyan Methodists, have three very respectable 
chapels in Dublin, and several smaller ones in the vicinity ; 
but, as there is nothing particularly interesting in their archi- 



142 THE DENOUEMENT. 

tecture, I shall forbear description. The Methodists in this 
country seem more anxious to provide accommodations for 
the greatest possible number of hearers, than to expend their 
money on costly decorations, which sometimes leave the mul- 
titude unprovided for. The chapel in Whitefriar street 
should not, however, pass unnoticed. It was erected by 
Mr. Wesley, ten or twelve years after the first Methodist 
society was formed, and a venerable building it is ; quite in 
the old style, very plain, and without any communion place. 
The lobby overhead is furnished on either side with a suite 
of convenient rooms, in one of which died that eminent min- 
ister of Jesus Christ, Thomas Walsh. After a long and 
severe conflict with the powers of darkness, while a few of 
his brethren were praying for him in an adjoining room, he 
burst into a transport of joy, exclaiming, "He is come ! 
He is come ! My Beloved is mine, and I am his, his for 
ever ! " and sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. 

Last night I assisted Mr. Waugh in holding what I think 
he called the ninetieth watch-night meeting held in this 
chapel. My sensations were peculiarly humbling, when re- 
flecting, " I am now standing in a pulpit, once so effectually 
occupied by the Wesieys, and the seraphic Fletcher." The 
Lord has lately honored this consecrated place by the con- 
conversion of many sinners. * * * * 

On the night of Thursday, the 6th of January, 1842, I 
preached my last sermon in Abbey street chapel. That 
large house was crowded in every part. I had taken my 
farewell at two of the other chapels, and affecting seasons 
they were, but the scene at Abbey street surpassed any thing 
of the kind I had ever beheld. After sermon, about thirteen 
hundred persons remained to bid me farewell, and they in- 
timated most significantly, that out of the house they would 
not go until they had shaken hands with me. I bore up un- 



THE DENOUEMENT. 148 

der the excitement till I thus parted with two hundred of 
them, chiefly young converts ; but their tears and cries so 
affected me, that I could not bear it, and excused myself 
from proceeding, saying, I would imitate the converted Indian 
chief, " Shake hands with them in my heart," by singing, 

" Amen, Amen, my soul replies, 
I'm bound to meet you in the skies, 

And claim my mansion there ; 
Now, here's my heart, and here my hand, 
To meet you in that hea-venly land, 

Where we shall part no more." 

When this was over, matters became worse and worse ; I was 
hemmed in on every side. At last two or three brethren, 
in mercy, undertook to set me free, and they had a task. 
With much trouble they opened a small path, and through a 
forest of hands, I gained the street ; when, lo ! it was lined 
to my home, at Mr. M'Comas's. The door was surrounded 
with people, but some friends succeeded in pulling me into 
»he house ; but, even here, there was little relief, as many 
were inside. The sorrowful hearts of the people at my de- 
parture, and a deep sense of my own unworthiness and utter 
insignificancy, crushed my spirit to the very dust. Never, 
in all my travels, have I met with a people equal to those 
of Dublin. Their affection knew no bounds : I cannot ted 
you all, my dear sister ; but their many acts of kindness and 
generous friendship are too deeply engraven upon the heart 
of your unworthy brother ever to be obliterated. 

I preached one hundred and twenty-nine sermons in Dub- 
lin, and about seven hundred persons professed to have re- 
ceived pardoning mercy. Many of these were members of 
society who had never before obtained salvation. Some were 
backsliders. Several from other churches, but a large pro- 
portion were from the world. 



144 ME DENOUEMENT. 

To give the reader a just conception of the genuineness of 
these numerous conversions, we insert a letter written by 
Richard Craig, Esq., of Dublin, in March, 1847. This letter 
will show how sacred and how lasting was the influence com- 
municated from God through Mr. Caughey's labors in that 
city : it also presents his labors there in a deeply interesting 
point of view : — 

" Dublin, Maech 9th, 184T. 

" Dear Sir, — After the Conference of 1841, the Society 
connected with Henderick street Chapel was looking forward, 
with no small degree of anxiety to the expected ministrations 
of the Rev. Robinson Scott, who had been appointed to this 
city, and whose reported love for revivals had made his ap- 
pointment an exceedingly popular one. On Sunday, 8th 
August, the day on which Mr. Scott was expected to preach 
for the first time in that chapel, Mr. Caughey delivered his 
first message on this side of the Atlantic. His method of 
reading the Psalms and Lessons for the day, and his passing 
remarks, seemed to make a most favorable impression on the 
congregation : and he preached a sermon, in his own pecu 
liarly tender, heart-searching, and affecting manner which 
will not soon be forgotten. Its effect was astonishing. The 
people were delighted with their new preacher ; but behold ! 
on inquiry, it was discovered not to be Mr. Scott, but " a 
stranger from America." In less time than I have been 
writing, it was decided that another brother (Fielding) and 
myself, should hasten after, and endeavor to prevail on him 
to preach again. * * * 

" So much for his first sermon. His last in Dublin was 
preached in Abby street Chapel on a week evening. I had 
frequently gone there to hear other great men preach oc- 
casional sermons on the Sabbath, but never before did I see 



THE DENOUEMENT. 145 

that large chapel, the most spacious we had in the city, so 
densely crowded : such a mass of human beings in such a 
space I had never before seen. Although many of his hear- 
ers, from the immense pressure, must have been exceedingly 
uncomfortable, his sermon was heard with the deepest 
attention. Sorrow " that they should see his face no more," 
seemed to be depicted on almost every countenance. At 
the conclusion, he earnestly requested all present, but es- 
pecially the young converts, to be attentive to the means of 
grace, more especially those for Christian communion ; and 
urged upon them the necessity of exercising liberality in the 
the cause of God. He then spoke of the kindly bearing of 
the preachers towards him, and of their brotherly love ; and 
with a delicacy of feeling which did him honor, he expressed 
his fears that, from the way he had been laboring amongst 
them, they might expect too much from their ministers. To 
guard against this he informed them, that if he was stationed 
among them, as his brethren around him were, it would be 
utterly impossible for him to fulfil the duties of the circuit, 
and at the same time carry on the meetings, evening after 
evening, as he had done. He then bade those near him fare- 
well, and with great difficulty got home. 

" I think that the number brought to God during his min- 
istry in Dublin was about 700, nearly half of whom were 
from the world. During the five years prior to his visit, the 
average number of members in the Dublin Society was 1267 ; 
and the average annual number of emigrations, during the 
same period, was 39. During the five years which have 
elapsed since Mr. Caughey's visit, the average number of 
members has been 1592, and of emigrations, 52 annually for 
four years, no return of emigrations having been made for 
the year 1846. This shows a clear average increase of 325, 
besides making up the deficiencies caused by emigration. 
13 



146 THE DENOUEMENT. 

.Formerly the society was only able to pay three preachers ; 
within a few years of Mr. Caughey's visit, by much exertion, 
the expense of four was met ; but in consequence of the 
blessing of the Most High on his labors, we are now able, 
from having such an increase of members, to support six. 
Thus, even in a financial point of view, his services in Dub- 
lin were invaluable, and, as it appears, produced lasting good. 
The amount of money subscribed to some of the most im- 
portant funds of the Society has also increased considerably, 
as the following statement shows : — 

Average of five years Average of five years 
prior to Mr. subsequent to Mr. 

Caughey's visit. Caughey's visit. 

Yearly Collection . . £156 1 11 £174 11 11 

Education Fund .... 48 16 55 11 

Chapel Fund 58 2 64 13 10 - 

Missions 585 615 15 2 



846 18 1 910 11 11 

So that to these four funds there has been a gross average 
annual increase of about £63. 

" Here, then, we have from the Minutes of Conference, a 
demonstrative proof, whether reference be made to the eter- 
nal or temporal interests of the society, that the work which 
was wrought through Mr. Caughey's instrumentality, was 
indeed of God, and not the effect of mere animal excitement 
or fanaticism ; and the results have been such as I am able 
to prove are unequalled in the entire history of Methodism 
in Dublin. 

" The secret of Mr. Caughey's success in Dublin was, 
that he always acknowledged the necessity of the Spirit's 
Influence to make his ministrations profitable to the people. 



THE DENOUEMENT. 147 

Hence he spent many hours of each day on his knees, with 
his Bible spread open before him, asking wisdom from on 
high, and beseeching a blessing from God on the preaching 
of his word. This, while at Mr. Fielding's, (and I believe 
Mr. McComas's,) was his almost constant employment be- 
tween breakfast and dinner. Whenever he suffered himself 
to be prevailed upon to spend an evening out, he usually 
retired an hour before the commencement of the evening's 
service, in order again to cry to God for a blessing on the 
people. I have, on more than one occasion, accompained him 
from my own or from a friend's house to the house of God, 
and during the whole of our walk he scarcely ever exhanged 
a word with me, — seemingly lost in contemplation of the 
importance of the work in which he was about to be engaged. 
What a contrast to the bearing of some ministers in simi- 
lar circumstances. He showed that he felt it to be his 
one business to be made instrumental in the salvation of 
sinners. 

" At a tea-meeting in Henderick street Chapel, which 
took place a few days before he left Dublin, Mr, Waugh, 
the Superintendent, in the presence of the preachers and 
leaders, and on behalf of the Society, returned him thanks for 
his labors amongst us ; and promised that, as far as in him lay, 
every facility should be afforded Mr. Caughey for his visits to 
the different Societies in this land. Such a statement, from 
such an order-loving man as Mr. Waugh, speaks trumpet- 
tongued as to the high opinion he then entertained of his 
piety> usefulness, and obedience. I have no reason to think 
that his opinion has undergone the slightest change. 
" I am, dear Sir, affectionately yours, 

"R. Craig." 



CHAPTER XI. 

TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

Among the many evidences, which Mr. Caughey's move 
ments furnish to demonstrate the reality and divinity of his 
mission to Europe, is the facility with which the Providence 
of God opened doors of access for him to the people. Con- 
sidering the extraordinary method of holding protracted pub- 
lic services which he was led to adopt, it is surprising that 
his way was opened without any direct effort of his own. 
Indeed, nothing is more apparent than that Mr. Caughey 
had no plan , preconceived, and subsequently carried out by 
persevering labor. He acted in simple, believing obedience 
to the call of God, leaving his heavenly director to prepare a 
way for his willing feet. How he should move, after his 
arrival in Liverpool, he did not know ; where he should com- 
mence his labors, he could not conceive. But he stood ready 
for the conflict at any point. This was precisely the attitude 
proper to his views and situation. And how naturally he 
moved. The Conference is in session at Manchester. There, 
the heart of the great Methodist body is to be seen, and 
there he modestly appears. An invitation to Ireland decides 
his mind to visit Dublin. In that place, an invitation to 
preach brings him before the people. God owns his first 
sermon, by causing it to produce a deep impression on the 
leading men present, that the stranger is sent to them fro» 

148 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 149 

God. They invite him to preach again. He does so, and 
with mighty effect, for a great revival commences at once. 
They insist on his stay. He remains, until an army of souls 
is raised up. His fame in Dublin procures him an invitation 
to Limerick, and thus he proceeds from place to place bless- 
ing and being blessed. What stronger demonstration, than 
these facts, can be demanded in proof of the genuineness of 
his astonishing impression ? We know of none. But let us 
hear his somewhat versatile statements concerning the ten 
weeks he spent in Limerick. He says : — 

I had a very pleasant ride, though rather cold, from Dub- 
lin to Limerick. Our route lay through several towns and 
villages, among which were Maryborough and Boscrea. I 
had a glance at a round tower, the first of the kind I had 
ever seen. I am agreeably entertained at the house of Mr. 
Keys. He and his sister are very intelligent persons, ex- 
ceedingly kind, and deeply devoted to God. Several pre- 
cious souls have been converted since my arrival. 

On the 13th inst., (January, 1842,) I received the fol- 
lowing letter from an intelligent and excellent brother in 
Dublin : — 

"My very dear Sir, — 

" On last Sabbath I was informed of an awful circum- 
stance, which occurred on the Sabbath evening you preached 
in Whitefriar street, from this text, ' This year thou shalt 
die.' You may probably recollect that, in your prayer, you 
earnestly besought God to spare that man for three weeks, 
whom he had decided on calling soon into eternity, in order 
that, before death, he might seek the salvation of his soul. 
On that night, a man who lived in the neighborhood nad 
wandered into the chapel, was deeply affected under the 
18* 



150 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

prayer, and went home convinced of sin. For years lie Had 
had a swelling upon the side of his neck, which, however, 
gave him little if any annoyance. On the next day, Mon 
day, it became sore and inflamed, and continued so bad that 
at last he was under the necessity of giving up work, and 
taking to his bed. A physician was called in, and, on ex 
amining the sore, pronounced it a cancer. The poor mau 
sank speedily under it, and in a short time the entire inside 
of his throat was exposed. He continued, during all his 
sufferings, to cry for mercy, and at length God spoke peace 
to his soul ; and exactly in three weeks from that Sabbath 
evening, and at the same hour in which you had been en 
gaged in prayer, he exchanged time for eternity, with a 
hope blooming with immortality." 

I had a delightful walk this afternoon, along the bank of a 
branch of the river Shannon, east of the city. My promen 
ade was a wide embankment, a mile and a half in length, with 
water on both sides. My soul was engaged in earnest plead 
ing with God for an outpouring of his Holy Spirit on Lime- 
rick. I told the Lord, with deep emotion and reverential 
awe, that if he had called me from America to preach the 
gospel in these kingdoms, and if I was still permitted to re- 
tain my commission, he would condescend to own and attend 
me in all my ministrations of his truth. I then drew nearer 
to God, and represented the smallness of my congregations, 
and the comparative want of success which had, as yet, 
attended my ministry in Limerick. 0, my dear sister, God 
came near to my soul ; I felt great sweetness, and a strong 
assurance that God would bring out the people, and awaken 
and convert many sinners, before he would call me out of 
this city. The day before yesterday we were visited with a 
most terrific hurricane. Several vessels in the harbor were 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 151 

much injured. The roofs of many houses were seriously 
damaged ; one house was demolished, and two or three lives 
lost. The beautiful stone bridge across the Shannon was 
greatly injured, by vessels which had broken loose from their 
moorings, and drifted against it. Two ships were upset 
below the bridge. The scene was awful. We are expecting 
sad tidings from the coast. Last night I improved the dread- 
ful visitation from that passage, 1 Kings xix. 11 — 13. 

Limerick has more than once been smitten by the rod of 
God's providence. A short time since, I was taking tea 
with one of our most influential friends here. In the course 
of our conversation, he related an awful event which hap- 
pened a few years ago, by a terrible explosion of gunpowder. 
A number of houses were blown to atoms, and eighteen or 
twenty persons killed. His house stood next to one that was 
thrown down, and was badly shattered. He pointed to the 
wall of the room in which we were sitting, and said the shock 
dashed it in nearly a foot, but it sprang back to its place 
immediately. He and his family had a most miraculous 
escape. The house was filled with the smoke of gunpowder, 
and when the neighbors gathered around his door, supposing 
they were all killed, they made their appearance as monu- 
ments of mercy, uninjured, but covered with the dust of 
bricks and mortar. I was amused with the account of the 
old family clock, which stood at the head of the stairs at the 
time of the explosion ; notwithstanding the wall was torn to 
pieces close by, and the stairs demolished, the old time-piece 
kept its footing, having just enough left to stand upon ; and a 
few minutes after the catastrophe, struck the proper hour, 
eleven o'clock, and continued its motions with the same regu- 
larity as if nothing had happened. And thus, I thought, 
it is with time ; whatever disasters may occur beneath tue 
sun, time still goes on. 



152 TEN WEEKS IN LIMEKICK. 

" Who shall contend with 

Time ? Unvanquished time ? 

The Conqueror of Conquerors, and Lord 

Of desolation." 

Since the sun first 

" Burst into birth, 
And dashed from off his altitude sublime, 
The first dread ray that marked commencing time," 

it has never paused. Although our globe was once nearly 
depopulated, and often since has it been rent and torn by 
earthquakes, and devastated by fire and storm ; while revo- 
lutions have convulsed the nations dwelling upon its surface, 
and myriads of immortal beings have been incarcerated in 
hell, or blessed with the liberty and joys of an eternal heaven ; 
through all the vicissitudes to which our planet has been sub- 
ject, Time, dread Time, has never for a moment rested his 
pinion to sigh over the wreck and the desolations both of the 
works and the hopes of man. How truly sublime >a tKe 
poet's description : — 

Eemorseless time ; 
Fierce spirit of the glass and scythe, what power 
Can stay him in his silent course, or melt 
His iron heart to pity ! 
On, still on he presses, and for ever. 

The proud bird, 
The Condor of the Andes, that can soar 
Through heaven's unfathomable depth, or brave 
The fury of the northern hurricane, 
And bathe his plumage in the thunder's home, 
Furls his broad wing at night-fall, and sinks down 
To rest upon his mountain crag ; 

But Time 
Knows not the weight of sleep, or weariness ; 
And night's deep darkness has no chains to bind 
His rushing pinion ! 
On, still on he presses, and for ever. 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 153 

I had a refreshing season the other night, while preaching 
on that encouraging text, Luke xv. 10, " Likewise, I say 
unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, 
over one sinner that repenteth." What a broad and glori- 
ous charter is this for revival efforts. Is it not sufficient to 
kindle an inextinguishable flame of zeal in the breast of a 
minister of Christ ? How clearly does it reveal the intimate 
connection existing between the world of mind in heaven, and 
the world of mind upon earth. Does it not show that God 
has linked his great family, above and below, by the strong 
and powerful ties of brotherhood ? # * * 

The Wesleyan Methodists in this country have a beautiful 
hymn in their collection, which I do not recollect to have 
seen in our American hymn-book. It was quite new to me, 
and has become a favorite ; perhaps it may gratify you and 
some other friends. 

Who can describe the joys that rise, 
Through all the courts of Paradise, 
To see a prodigal return, 
To see an heir of glory born ? 

With joy the Father doth approve 
The fruit of his eternal love ; 
The Son with joy looks down, and sees 
The purchase of his agonies. 

The Spirit takes delight to view 
The contrite soul he forms anew ; 
And saints and angels join to sing 
The growing empire of their King. 

A few hours ago, a beautiful flag was seen waving from a 
neighboring flag-staff; and, upon inquiry, it was found that 
the wife and servant of a pious captain, whose ship is in port 
had been converted to God. The noble-hearted son of the 
ocean was so full of joy, that he commemorated the glorious 



154 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

event before heaven, and earth, and hell, by thus hoisting 
his ship's colors, " That it might announce victory" to use 
his own language, " through the blood of the Lamb," as 
it waved in the morning breezes. 

The Lord is reviving his work in Limerick by converting 
souls daily. The meetings are characterized with much 
solemnity, sometimes the stillness is oppressive. I often feel 
afraid it is the result of lukewarmness or stupidity ; but, on 
going from seat to seat, and finding the people universally on 
their knees, pleading with God for mercy, or for a larger 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I return, very often, ashamed 
of my suspicions. 

The following case is an exception ; but the results were 
so glorious we could not regret the circumstance : A woman, 
whose husband is a Roman Catholic, was induced to attend 
the services. God powerfully awakened her to a sense of 
her wretched condition as a sinner; she came again and 
again ; at last her distress became so great that she began 
to agonize for salvation, when a strange scene ensued. She 
sprang upon her feet, began to jump up and down, howling 
in a most horrible manner ; her head at the same time flying 
from side to side, as if it would leave her body. Some fled 
in horror ; others fainted ; many stood in solemn awe before 
God. It was a terrible conflict. I had seen such things 
before, but the dear people were appalled. It seemed as if 
two contending powers were rending her in pieces. I be- 
lieve the devil was then making his last effort to keep pos- 
session of her soul ; nor can I doubt that the Holy Ghost 
was then in the act of casting him out. The devil " rent 
her sore " and departed. Mark ix. 26. I saw her in the 
congregation a few nights afterwards, " Clothed, and in her 
right mind," as peaceful as a lamb, and happy in God. 

We are now distributing the following circular : — 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 155 

TO THAT MAN WHO FEARS GOD IN THE CITY 
OE LIMERICK. 

My dear Friend and Brother, 

You believe the Bible to be the word of God, a revelation 
of the will of the Most High to man. When you look into 
that holy book, when you read its sacred pages, when your 
heart is deeply impressed with its solemn truths ; and when 
you compare the general conduct and acknowledged experi 
ence of multitudes around you with that book, and with the 
gospel you hear preached from Sabbath to Sabbath, can you 
for a moment doubt the jeopardy to which their poor souls 
are every hour exposed ? With this book in your hand, you 
have a right to make an estimate, not only of your own pros- 
pects for eternity, but also of the eternal prospects of those 
around you. 

You must do this in order to feel for your own soul, and 
for the souls of your fellow-men. How can your heart bleed 
for poor impenitent sinners ? How can you weep and cry to 
God for their salvation until you thus realize their dreadful 
condition ? 

This language is not new to you ; your Christian heart has 
often sighed over the abominations practiced around you ; 
you have often trembled for the eternal ruin you have seen 
a little ahead of the giddy throng ; and as one and another 
of them have been cut down by the justice of God, your soul 
has been troubled within you, and your cry has been, " 
Lord, revive thy work ;" and you have long expected that 
God would defend his own cause in Limerick, and that ho 
would raise up many witnesses to that great truth, " Jesus 
Christ hath power upon earth to forgive sins." 

Long have you waited for an outpouring of his Holy 
Spirit. I address you as a friend of God ; as one who fears 
his holy name. Will you recognize that revival of the work 



156 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

of God for which you have so long sighed and prayed, and 
for whicn you have been so long in expectation ? But Trill 
you recognize it among a people with whom you are not in 
the habit of worshipping God ; perhaps a people against 
whom you have been prejudiced in past years ? If so, we 
can assure you, brother, the revival of God's work has begun. 
A few souls have lately experienced the great truth referred 
to above, and are now rejoicing in the salvation of God, 
experimentally felt. 

In the Wesley chapel, George street, a few of God's 
people have resolved to follow the directions given in Isaiah 
lxii. 6, 7 : "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusa- 
lem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night : ye 
that make mention of the Lord keep not silence ; and give 
him no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a 
praise in the earth ;" and among them are a few whose lan- 
guage is, " A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto 
me, and woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel ;" and 
the cry of their heart is, as recorded in the first veise of that 
same chapter of Isaiah, " For Zion's sake will I not hold my 
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the 
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salva- 
tion thereof as a lamp that burneth ; and they are resolved 
to make full proof of their ministry by wielding, to the very 
utmost of their strength, those great and tremendous truths 
of God which are believed by Christians of different denomi- 
nations. Among those who are thus resolved to do all they 
can to bring sinners home to God, is the writer of this 
paper. 

When in North America, surrounded by the happy people 
of his own charge, as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church of that country, he received an impression which he 
behoved then, and does yet believe, came from God, that it 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 157 

was his duty to take a tour through these kingdoms and call 
sinners to repentance ; and, after fulfilling his mission, return 
to America and re enter upon his regular work. After hav- 
ing obtained leave of absence from the authorities of that 
church, and being duly recommended to the confidence of 
his brethren on this side of the Atlantic, by his Bishop and 
Conference, he has come as far as Limerick, preaching the 
gospel of the Son of God. Will you, my dear friend, help 
us in this work by your prayers, presence, and influence ? 
May be God will at this time give a general revival of true 
religion in this city. Perhaps your own sjuI is far from 
being happy in the love of God. That with all your good- 
will to the religion of the Saviour, you yourself have never 
been converted. That you can neither tell the time, nor 
place, nor circumstances of your having passed from death 
unto life ; so that our Lord's discourse to Mcodemus, John 
iii., on the subject of the " new birth," is as great a mystery 
to your unhappy soul as it was to the Jewish ruler. Although 
you do know what " the spirit of bondage again to fear " 
meaneth, yet Romans viii. 16, is yet to your heart an unex- 
plained mystery. ^ - * 

Look up to God, thou who art waiting for the " conso- 
lation of Israel." " The time to favor Zion is come ;" and 
the time to favor thy poor soul is come also. " The Lord, 
whom thou seekest, shall suddenly come to his temple." 

Perhaps there may stand by your side, a poor, wicked, 
wretched sinner, over whose head the sword of eternal jus- 
tice has long been suspended. Let me speak a word to him. 
Ah! poor sinner! thou unhappy wanderer from God, and 
from the path to heaven, what a mercy thou art not m hell ! 
God has spared thee for a number of years, though 

" Thou hast long withstood his grace, 
Long provoked him to his face." 

14 



168 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK:. 

Thou hast long been a transgressor against God, and an 
enemy to thine own soul. 0, sin no more ! Turn, man, 
woman, turn ! 0, turn to God before he involve thy poor 
soul among the wretched and hopeless outcasts of a miser- 
able eternity! May the Holy Spirit help you, through 
Jesus Christ ! Amen. 

James Catjghey. 
Wesley Chapel, Limerick, 
Jan. Uth, 1842. 

Hundreds of the above are already in circulation. I trust 
the effects will be good. 

The next paragraphs, which treat of the history of Lime- 
rick, although a digression from the main topic of the work, 
are inserted both on account of their intrinsic excellence, and 
as a specimen of Mr. Caughey's descriptive powers. They 
will be both novel and interesting to the intelligent reader : 

Limerick is seated on the noble river Shannon, about sixty 
miles from the ocean and ninety-four from Dublin. The 
river is navigable for ships of a large size to the city wharves. 
Situated in the heart of a rich and fertile country, it is a 
place of considerable commerce. The city annals are full of 
stirring incident. Some have supposed its foundations were 
laid before the birth of Christ. Ptolemy gave it the name 
of Regia ; and in other ancient documents it is called Rosse 
de Naileagh. Its earliest name is allowed to have been 
Lum-neach, an Irish word, signifying a place made bare by 
the grazing of horses. It seems, that at a very early period, 
the island upon which part of the city stands, was the resort 
of a set of outlaws and vagabonds, who subsisted by plunder- 
ing the neighboring counties, on both sides of the river : 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 159 

(think of ancient Rome.) Here they drove their stolen 
horses. Hence the name. The island was at that time 
accessible only by a ford ; now, two majestic stone bridges 
span the river, uniting the county Clare with the town. Its 
present modification of name was by the English. 

The place was taken and plundered by the Danes, in the 
year of our Lord, 812, and soon after they constituted it one 
of their principal maritime stations. They encompassed it 
with walls and towers ; and for more than a century main- 
tained it as a place of great importance to their interests in 
Ireland. At the time, denominated in history, " The 
English Invasion," A. D. 1169, it fell into the hands of the 
English ; and soon after the Danes were banished from the 
kingdom. Previous to this time, much blood had been shed 
within and outside its walls. There is an account of a suc- 
cessful siege against it, by Brien Boroimhe, (can you get 
your American tongue around this ?) King of Munster. It 
became the residence of the King of Thomond, or North 
Munster, and arrived at such dignity as to be called in his- 
tory, " The Kingdom of Limerick." I find that during a 
few centuries it suffered no less than eight bloody sieges. 
The last two were the most important, as they resulted in its 
complete subjugation to the Protestant British throne. These 
sieges took place, A. D. 1690 — 1. 

On the accession of James II., the inhabitants proclaimed 
the event with great rejoicings. The same year, King Wil- 
liam, the antagonist of James, laid siege to the city. It was 
then a walled town, three miles in circumference, with a 
castle, citadel, various towers, and seventeen gates, the 
whole strongly fortified. William approached the walls with 
twenty thousand veteran troops, and commenced the siege. 
The place was well garrisoned with Irish and Danish troops, 
largely supplied with munitions of war, with the advantage 



160 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

#f a free access to the ocean. Notwithstanding these disad- 
vantages, together with the lateness of the season, this 
monarch pressed the siege with great vigor. A breach was 
made, and through it did his valiant soldiers several times 
penetrate into the city, but as often were they driven back. 
This desperate contest lasted four hours, when William was 
forced to retreat, leaving behind him sixteen hundred men, 
principally slain. A few months afterwards, King William 
sent General Ginkell against the place with a large army. 
The siege was bloody and desperate. I stood near the place 
yesterday, at the Thomond Bridge, where six hundred Irish 
troops were cut to pieces, and one hundred and fifty drowned 
It seems the Irish had made a sally, but meeting with a hot 
reception, and being severely pressed by the English, they 
retreated in great disorder. The officer in charge of the 
gate, fearing the English might gain an entrance with the 
fugitives, ordered the bridge to be drawn and the gate shut ; 
thus the poor fellows were left to be butchered like so many 
cattle. On the first of October the city surrendered, under 
certain articles of capitulation. The treaty was signed on a 
large stone, on the Clare side of the Shannon, close to the 
bridge. This stone is an object of interest to the inhabitants, 
as well as a curiosity to visiters. About this time the city 
was declared to be no longer a fortress, and the dismantling 
of its walls immediately took place. 

The other day I walked upon fifty yards of the old wall. 
It is about twenty-five feet high. The effects of the cannon- 
ading are still visible in the shattered and broken stones of 
the front. A gentleman who accompanied me, pointed out 
the place where King William made the first breach, and 
the spot where the Irish and Danes played off a small battery 
which did terrible execution among those who were pressing 
in. Here was the place, too, where the good ladies of Lime- 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 161 

rick came up to the help of their valiant husbands. Strong 
affection for those they loved drew them to the scene of con- 
flict, weaponless of course ; but seeing the dreadful crisis 
they resolved to go into action ; so, pulling off their stock- 
ings and putting a few stones therein, they rushed into the 
ranks and assisted in turning the tide of battle. The heavy- 
footed stockings were seen swinging in all directions ; with 
these they hammered the heads of the wounded, or those 
who had fallen in the pell-mell of retreat. Oh, the horrors 
of war ; into what demons does it transform our race ! 

Pardon the digression. But Limerick, wall-less as it is, 
is once more besieged by a small army under the command 
of Jesus Christ. Several skirmishes have already taken 
place, and more than thirty sinners have been wounded by 
the sword of the Spirit ; but the Captain of our salvation 
has healed them again, as he did poor Malchus, who had 
been deprived of his ear by the keen sword of Peter. We 
are expecting a general engagement one of these days ; but 
it is not necessary to contrast the consequences ; I mean 
with those bloody conflicts I have been just describing. 
Should we have the victory, it will be a bloodless one ; and 
the effects so much more glorious that they cannot be brought 
into comparison ; but if we are unsuccessful, the results tc 
many hundreds of the enemies of the Lord may be as awfully 
terrific as the horrors of hell surpass those of the bloodiest 
battle that has ever stained our globe. 

The ancient Cathedral of St. Mary is a venerable and 
noble structure, in plain Gothic. The walls are surmounted 
by a line of graduated battlements, and the whole finished 
off with a square tower one hundred and twenty feet high, 
singularly castellated at the top, besides four turrets, twenty 
feet high, which adorn the angles. The interior is orna- 
mented with a variety of monuments and inscriptions. The 
14* 



162 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 



. . 



sculpture, however, possesses but little interest beyond being 
very ancient. The figures, with one or two exceptions, are 
very coarse. I was amused and surprised to find the follow- 
ing inscription upon a plain slab in this church ; especially 
as i.t dates the latter part of the seventeenth century : — 

MEMENTO MORY 

HERE LIETH LITTEL 

SAMVELL BARINGTON THAT 

GREAT VNDERTAKER OF 
FAMOVS CTTTIS CLOCK AND 

CHIME MAKER HE MADE 
HIS OWN TIME GOE EAR- 
LY AND LATTER BVT 
NOW HE IS RETVRNED TO 
GOD HIS CREATOR 
THE 19 NOVEMBER THEN 
HE SEEST AND FOR HIS 
MEMORY THIS HERE IS 
PLEAST BY HIS SON BEN 
1693. 

Was not Ben a genius ? 

Will your taste be shocked, if I tell you, that encompassed 
as I was with many remnants of antiquity, my eyes rested on 
no spot with such interest as upon the ruins of an old Meth- 
odist chapel ? A few moments after leaving the cathedral, 
we found ourselves standing before its venerable walls. It is 
yearly unroofed. The front is supported by four pillars of 
the Tuscan order, resting upon neat pedestals, and finished 
■with plain capitals. The recess is well flagged, protected by 
a substantial balustrade. To the left are the stairs to the 
lobby, entirely above the chapel. These we ascended, but 
durst not proceed, as the floors were bad. We could see the 
long range of class-rooms, and chambers for the preachers, 
according to the custom of early Methodism. The interior 
of the chapel is a mournful desolation ; the pulpit is gone, 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 163 

and the whole seatless and floorless. The frame-work of the 
galleries and the stairs remain. Ah ! I thought, this place 
has often been vocal with the praises of God. Multitudes, 
now in heaven, were " born of the Spirit" within these walls. 
Here Mr. Wesley often preached the gospel " with the Holy 
Ghost sent down from heaven.' ? In this place he often met 
the society, and instructed them in the deep things of God ; 
but they are all long since gone to the eternal world. 

The following remarks on this chapel are given by Mr. 
Wesley, in his journal, 1765 : " Friday, 8th June, I rode to 
Limerick, and found the preaching-house just finished. I 
liked it the best of any in the kingdom ; being neat, yea, 
elegant, yet not gaudy." 

The Wesleyan Methodists have, at present, a large and 
handsome chapel in another part of the city. Limerick has 
the usual number of benevolent institutions which honor 
other cities ; the same variety also of Christian denomina- 
tions and places of worship that we have generally in America. 
You are aware, that all who do not belong to the Established 
Church in this country, are called Dissenters or Eoman Cath- 
olics. The dissenting churches in Limerick are very respec- 
table and flourishing, although they are living amidst the 
frowns of Papists on the one hand, and, very generally, the 
contempt of the Establishment on the other. 

That popery should frown upon protestant churches, and 
persecute them, is not to be wondered at ; but that the min- 
isters of one protestant church should endeavor to unchurch 
all others, and anathematize their ministers, as intruders into 
the pastoral office, is mournful indeed. It is not unlikely 
that a church establishment is best for these kingdoms ; 
inasmuch as it has been, for centuries, interwoven with their 
civil and religious constitution. The fact, however, is noto- 
rious, that in whatsoever nation under heaven, one branch oi 



164 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

the church is elevated by law above the others, in honors, 
privileges, and emoluments, that that section becomes, and 
continues overbearing, dogmatical, and exclusive ; and thus 
it has been from time immemorial. You will ask, " But 
have the j meddled with the validity of your ministry ?" 
Cei fcainry ; am I not found among the Dissenters ? It is 
therefore thought impossible your friend can be in the suc- 
cession. I usually answer the attack with a smile, or a 
pointed reply, thus : I have no sympathy whatever with your 
exclusive claims. Your high church notions may do well 
enough for this country, but as we have no state church in 
America, you cannot imagine I should have any respect for 
such claims. Christian churches are there on an equal foot- 
ing in all respects ; and the consequence is, they escape that 
humiliating persecution to which your sister churches are 
subjected, in most places in Ireland. As to the constitution 
and government of the church of which I am a member, it is 
an Episcopacy. We have our bishops, elders, and deacons ; 
and allow me to say, however you may be dissatisfied with 
us, we are perfectly contented, as a church, with our ec- 
clesiastical position in America. But I would have you un- 
derstand, we lay no claim to any such superiority over other 
churches, as would go to invalidate the ordination of their 
pastors. "lam become a fool in glorying ; ye have com- 
pelled me." 2 Cor. xii. 11. "Yet as a fool receive me, 
that I may boast myself a little." 2 Cor. xi. 16. Although 
the hands of two bishops have been upon my head ; first, in 
my ordination as deacon ; and, lastly, as an elder in the 
church of Grod ; yet, neither do I on this account disesteem 
or undervalue the ordination of the Wesleyan Methodist min- 
isters, nor that of other Dissenting clergymen of these king- 
doms ; nor will I allow you to go on with your unwarrantable 
denunciations against my ministry and ordination, without 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 165 

administering the rebuke your pride and arrogance have so 
justly merited. 

As to the aspect of Limerick generally, you would not be 
pleased with it, accustomed as you have been to the clean 
streets, tastefully painted houses, and lively, brilliant appear- 
ance of American cities and villages. The streets are nar- 
row and dirty ; buildings, principally of brick, old, and very 
dark and sooty, owing probably to the moisture of the cli- 
mate, and the abundance of coal consumed. These remarks 
will only apply to those parts of the city named English and 
Irish Towns. The new city is quite of a different character. 
The streets are wide and clean ; the houses handsome ; and, 
taken altogether, the city of New York would be honored by 
a transfer of this part of the city of Limerick. 

I have not been here a sufficient length of time to form 
an opinion respecting the inhabitants. My acquaintance is, 
as yet, limited to the Methodists ; and a most loving, hospit- 
able people they are; intelligent, influential, united, and 
deeply devoted to God. I think if Mr. Wesley were alive, 
he would have the same opinion of them now, that he had 
when he penned the character of the Limerick society in 
1771 : " Feb. 25th, I spoke severally to the members of the 
society in Limerick. I have found no society in Ireland, 
number for number, so rooted and grounded in love." They 
have two excellent men of God stationed among them this 
year, the Rev. John F. Mathews, and the Rev. William F. 
Applebe, with whom I feel my soul strongly united in love- 
They are every thing I could desire, and enter most heartily 
into the revival. 

As to the congregation, although we have had divine ser- 
vice every night since my arrival, there is, as yet, no falling 
off. This looks like an improvement since Mr. Wesley's day. 
! It seems they had given him trouble on this head, and drove 



166 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK 

him to certain measures which proved successful. The fol- 
lowing entry in his journal for the year 1771, is rather 
amusing : " Tuesday, 14th, I rode on to Limerick, and told 
them plainly, c If, as is your manner, you attend three days, 
iind then fall off, I can hestow my time better elsewhere. 
But if you continue to come, I will stay with you longer.' 
They took me at my word, and continued to increase, both 
morning and evening, as long as I stayed in the city." 

Mr. Mathews and I have been engaged lately in visiting 
from house to house, praying with the families and exhorting 
sinners to turn to God. I preach every night in the week, 
except Monday and Saturday. There is a gracious move 
among the people. Sixty persons came foward, night before 
last, to testify, that, during the last few weeks, they had found 
"redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins ;" 
and afterwards eighty awakened sinners came forward for the 
prayers of God's people ; five or six of whom were convert- 
ed before they departed. Glory be to God in the highest ! 

The following passages are taken from a letter written 
from Cork, and contain several matters of interest concern 
ing the results of his labors in Limerick : — 

Yesterday morning, March 18, 1842, I left Limerick by 
stage coach, and arrived in this city (Cork) a little past five, 
P. M. Thirty miles of our route lay through an interesting 
country, but the remainder of the way was exceedingly dull, 
and the weather bleak. 

We had a very gracious work of God in Limerick. One 
hundred and thirty persons professed the salvation of the 
gospel, and about ninety united with the Methodist church. 
I was informed that other churches had received some 
benefit from the revival ; to what extent I am not able to 
gay. 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 167 

A few days before I departed, I was invited to take break- 
j fast with a number of the friends in the vestry. There were 
I about forty present. When the cloth was removed, the Rev. 
, J. F. Mathews, Superintendent of the Circuit, rose, and 
i after a short speech, a copy of which was given to me after- 
1 wards, he presented me with a valuable patent lever watch, 
i together with an address, signed by the chairman and secre- 
tary of the meeting. I rose, and returned Mr. M. and the 
I friends my hearty thanks, stating, that I should be most 
i happy to receive the beautiful timepiece, did I not possess a 
good one already ; that one watch was quite enough for a 
Methodist preacher ; that if they would consent to receive 
I mine, and do what they pleased with it, I would gratefully 
accept their elegant present ; but only on these terms. It 
was then resolved that the Rev. John F. Mathews should be 
presented with my watch. I accompanied it with a short 
address ; but I felt so unworthy, and was so overcome with 
the unexpected kindness shown me, that I could scarcely 
proceed. Mr. M. received it with such expressions of 
brotherly love, as have left an indelible impression upon my 
heart. The following are the copies of the addresses on the 
occasion : — 

"Reverend and very dear Sir, 

" At the request of a few of our brethren of the Wes 
leyan society, some of whom, through you, have been led to 
the Saviour, and united to his people, we address you a few 
lines, now on the eve of your departure from us, to another 
field of labor and usefulness. 

" We feel inadequate to give expression to our feelings of 
respect and regard to you, for your great and unwearied 
exertions during your visit to this city. The results have 
greatly exceeded our highest anticipations. When we con* 



168 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 

sider the large attendance of deeply attentive congregations, 
that from night to night sat under jour ministry, the numbers 
who have been awakened and brought to believe in the Lord 
Jesus, and the encouraging circumstances in which the soci- 
ety has been placed by this revival of the work of God, we 
are led, with adoring gratitude to Him, the source of every 
blessing, to acknowledge what, through your instrumentality, 
has been effected. 

" We trust, dear Sir, that your valuable life will long be 
preserved to the world and the church ; that you may live 
to publish the gospel of the grace of God, which, we earn- 
estly pray, may to many thousands be his power to their 
salvation, who shall be your 'joy and crown of rejoicing in 
the day of the Lord Jesus.' We do cherish the delightful 
expectation of meeting you in that day, in our Father's 
kingdom, where there is ' fulness of joy,' and < pleasures for 
evermore.' Now that you are about to leave us, we cannot 
let you depart without a small testimony of our fraternal re- 
gard for you, and trust you will be pleased to accept the 
accompanying token as an expression of gratitude to God, 
for the blessings he has been pleased to confer on us through, 
your instrumentality. 

" We remain, dear Sir, yours most truly and affectionate- 
ly; by order, 

" Robt. Keays. 

"MlCHL. SWITZER." 

"March 15th, 1842." 

The secretary put into my hands the following, as the sum 
mary of the Rev. Mr. Mathew's address : — 

" He congratulated the meeting upon the very cheering 
circumstances in which the society was placed. A few 
months ago it was greatly depressed, but now the scene was 
considerably altered. Many, during the revival, had been 



TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 169 

converted to God, had given themselves to him and to his 
people according to his will. 

" He spoke of Methodism in terms of high admiration 
with regard to its doctrines, privileges, and discipline, and 
of its adaptation to the great designs of God in the salvation 
of the world. The Lord had signally owned the labors of 
his servant. His word had been c in demonstration of the 
Spirit and of power.' The gospel, by his ministry, had in- 
deed come ' in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.' It 
was their earnest prayer that the Lord would still be with 
him ; and, in every place, crown his labors with abundant 
success. 

"In conclusion, he observed, this token of affection and 
gratitude is a watch. The friends presenting it are fully 
aware, dear Sir, that you deeply feel the value of time ; else 
you would not have preached with that yearning compassion 
for the souls of sinners, which has characterized your labors 
since you came to this city ; that its unspeakable importance, 
as the period allotted to prepare for eternity, is a subject 
which fills your mind in all your ministrations. 

" The vibrations of this watch, wherever the providence 
of God may lead you, in Ireland, England, the continent of 
Europe, the mighty deep, or far away beyond the great 
Atlantic, will be a fit memento of the constant affectionate 
vibrations of the hearts of your Limerick friends ; and we are 
led, in joyful anticipation, to look beyond the periodical revo- 
lutions of hours and days, months and years, terms belong- 
ing to limited duration ; to that glorious period when there 
shall be duration without measure, without limit, and without 
end ; and we expect, dear Sir, to meet you in that kingdom, 
where our friendship shall be perpetuated forever." 

I received many other tokens of the strong affection of 
this lovely people, and left their city with feelings of strong 
15 



170 TEN WEEKS IN LIMERICK. 






attachment and gratitude not easily expressed. An ac- 
quaintance has been formed there with some of the excellent 
of the earth which, I believe, shall be renewed in heaven. I 
do praise God also, that I ever became acquainted with the 
Rev. J. F. Mathews, and his colleague, Mr. Applebe, and 
with their amiable wives and families. 



CHAPTER XII. 

VISIT TO CORK. 

Having finished his work in Limerick, Mr. Caughey found 
K an open door " in the city of Cork. With the incidents of 
his visit there, the reader will be greatly pleased. Perhaps 
he will wish that Mr. Caughey had given a more regular 
and detailed account of his revival movements. But it must 
be recollected that, in a former chapter, he has entered fully 
into his mode of assaulting the kingdom of Satan. To de- 
scribe minutely his labors in each place, would be only a 
repetition of that chapter, since his mode of procedure was 
substantially the same every where. He has, therefore, very 
wisely, as we think, left the reader to apply the descriptions 
of that thrilling chapter* to Limerick, Cork, &c.,and has 
given us the incidents only which were extraordinary and 
peculiar. 

The succeeding chapter derives its chief interest and value 
from its description of the veteran soldier, a truly unique 
character. There is a singular beauty in the picture it pre- 
sents of the wearied warrior, laying down his sword before 
ihe door of the Wesleyan Chapel, and offering his services to 
the Captain of his salvation : and in the subsequent history 
of this bold old soldier we have the character and duty of 
a model class-leader distinctly drawn. "We hope this 
character will be profoundly studied by every class-leader in 

* Vide Chapter IV. 

171 



172 VISIT TO CORK. 

the connection. But we must let Mr. Caughey speak for 
Himself. In his usual and somewhat abrupt manner he thus 
begins his account of his visit to Cork : — 

To-morrow morning, March 20, 1842, please God, I open 
my commission in Cork. This morning I walked out of the 
city, and ascended one of the neighboring hills, and had a 
fine view of the place. It blew a gale at the time, with oc- 
casional bursts of sunshine through careering clouds. I 
spent some time here in fervent prayer for the town, winch 
lay beneath ; near access to God was vouchsafed me ; and, 
after pleading deeply in the Spirit for the inhabitants, I 
arose from my knees with the fullest conviction that God was 
just as willing to visit Cork with an outpouring of the Spirit, 
as he was to send the purifying breeze, and the warming and 
cheering beams of the sun, through the streets and lanes 
of the city. 

On the Sabbath morning following I addressed a large 
congregation from Isaiah xl. 31 ; many received the word in 
faith and gladness, but some were prejudiced, and resisted. 
I had many conflicting emotions during the sermon ; such as 
light, gloom, joy, sadness, freedom, restraint, softness, hard- 
ness. Do you understand such a paradoxical experience ? 
I felt deeply humbled, and resolved to cleave to God. At 
night I opened my commission more fully, from Jeremiah 
xxiii. 19, 20. God enabled me to bear down on sinners with 
the following proposition : There are a few great principles 
which every sinner should consider perfectly before he enters 
the eternal world. 

It was a very solemn time, especially at the close of the 
sermon. I insisted that a period must arrive in the history 
of all men who die in sin, when God Almighty will compel 
them, by all the arguments of hell-fire, to consider perfectly 



VISIT TO CORK. 173 

those subjects which during life they had neglected ; that 
perfect consideration now would be attended with the most 
delightful consequences, but that the same exercise of mind 
in hell will only sink them deeper in its tormenting flames. 
I then threw down the gauntlet of defiance against the devil 
and all his works, and rallied my officers around the banners 
of the cross. There was a shaking, but the devil raised his 
signal of determined opposition. The night was spent in 
hard fighting, without any great advantage on either side. 
Hostilities ceased about ten o'clock at night. We called off 
our troops and so did Satan. He had some wounded, but 
he carried them off the battle-ground. Since then we have 
had a hard tug of war ; several of our praying men have 
been so exhausted that they could not engage in active 
service. 

A few nights ago one of the worthiest officers in Jesus 
Christ's army was beaten from his post ; I found him in the 
congregation with his head down in great dejection, and sur- 
rounded with many in a similar state of soul. I went to 
him and said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" He had 
just strength enough to reply, " There is too much noise ; I 
can do nothing in the midst of it." 

" My brother, I am astonished at you ! It is a temptation 
of the devil. I have just been mourning over the death-like 
stillness which is prevailing, suspecting it to arise from luke- 
warmness and spiritual death, and I have been urging the 
brethren to get into a state of soul in which they could shout 
for battle and for victory." 

He saw it was a device of Satan, and escaped out of the 
hand of the enemy. The leaders complain of great hardness' 
of heart, but they are good men and true — 

" Valiant hearted men, 
Who will not their colors fly." 

15* 



174 VISIT TO CORK. 

The preachers, Rev. Fossey Tackaberry, (brother to the 
"Rev. Mr. Tackaberry, of the New York Conference,) and 
Rev. John Greer, are possessed of an excellent spirit, fine 
talents, and active zeal for the salvation of sinners, and are 
highly esteemed by their people They manifest a lively 
interest in the present conflict, and seem delighted to open 
every door of usefulness which would be likely to promote 
the great end of my visit. 

The principal chapel is a large and substantial building. 
Its exterior is quite pretentionless ; the interior, however, is 
spacious and exceedingly neat. There is an elegant and 
dignified simplicity in the fitting up which I admire. In few 
places of worship has my mind enjoyed such a soothing sense 
of religious quiet and seclusion from the world as in this. 
The regular congregation is large and highly respectable ; 
equal to that in Abbey street, Dublin, in every respect. 
The preachers insist I shall occupy the pulpit twice on the 
Sabbath while I stay. My mind has been uneasy about this, 
knowing the superior talents of these servants of God ; but 
they say, " Let God send by whom he will send ; we have 
been preaching to our people for several months, and we shall 
have many opportunities after you are gone ; we wish you 
to do all the good you can while you remain with us." 

A touching scene once took place in front of the abo-ve 
chapel, which will please you. It was related to me by aD 
old and successful class-leader of the Wesleyan Methodist 
Society in this city, as a part of his religious experience 
He is one of the holiest and most devoted men of God 1 
have ever met. Although between seventy and eighty years 
of age, his mind seems to have all the freshness and vigor of 
youth. He has been the instrument of the conversion of a 
great number of sinners ; not so much, I believe, by public 
exhortations as by his private efforts for their salvation ; by 



VISIT TO CORK. 175 

this I mean his close, pungent, and untiring application of 
divire truth to individual sinners, in private conversation. 
The whole of his time is now taken up in watching over and 
visiting the members of several large classes committed by 
the church to his care. Indeed he is a father to the entire 
society. The prime of his life was spent in the British army. 
He endured the hardships and hazards of several bloody 
campaigns in the Peninsular war. It was on his return from 
fighting the battles of his country that the circumstance 
alluded to occurred. I will give it you in nearly his own 
words : — 

" On the 21st September, 1809, I arrived in Cork by the 
mail, about three o'clock in the morning. I had been dis- 
charged from the Koyal Artillery, my health having suffered 
much in Spain. The morning was fine, the streets still and 
solitary ; I knew my wife and children were asleep, and con- 
cluded not to disturb them so early. I went to the front of 
the Wesley chapel, laid down my pack, and placed my 
sword across the iron gate, kneeled on the flags, and praised 
my gracious God with all my heart and soul for his provi- 
dential care, in not suffering a bone to be broken nor a drop 
of my blood to be shed, in all the sieges and battles in which 
I had been engaged under the Duke of York and Sir J. 
Moore ; saving me by sea and land, and for bringing me to 
my family in peace. 

" And now, my God and King, I praise thee for all thy 
mercies; and as thou hast enabled me, by thy grace, to serve 
faithfully my earthly sovereign, and hast provided for me an 
honorable discharge from this bloody service, I drop, I lay 
down my carnal sword at the gate of thy house, determined 
by divine grace to put on more heartily the whole armor of 
God ; the breast-plate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, 
the gospel shoes, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of 



176 VISIT TO CORK. 

faith. Lord Jesus Christ, enable me now to take the 
sword of the Spirit ; for I am fully resolved, by thy assist- 
ance, to serve thee as faithfully as I have served King 
George. God, teach me to be expert in the use of these 
my spiritual weapons; teach my hands to war and my 
fingers to fight, that I may crucify the flesh, overcome the 
spirit of the world, and vanquish all the powers of darkness ; 
serve my generation, glorify thy name, and be made meet, 
through rich and abounding mercy, to enjoy thee in glory, 
through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen." 

"I have no doubt," continued the old Christian warrior, 
" after thirty-two years' experience, this prayer was heard 
and answered. Glory, eternal glory be ascribed to God ! 
Within a few minutes of six o'clock I went home to my joy- 
ful, weeping wife and children. As I now had enlisted more 
immediately in the service of Jesus Christ, I plainly saw it 
was my duty to win as many souls for my Lord as I possibly 
could. I made an effort, rough as it was, to grapple with 
the servants of the devil, and God blessed my humble en- 
deavors. My class soon became too large, and had to be 
divided ; then multiplying in numbers, it was again divided 
and sub-divided. In a few years I had six large classes." 

Is there not something morally grand thrown around the 
above simple story ? It is not every hero, returning from 
the field of battle, who thus lays his honors at the feet of 
Christ and enlists for life under the command of the Captain 
of our salvation. I have another circumstance to relate, 
connected with this excellent man, told me by a friend the 
other day. It may be a blessing to yourself and other lead- 
ers in America, many of whom need to be stimd up as well 
as those in Cork. At a meeting, several years ago, the 
leaders were presenting their class-books for the inspection 
of the minister. One good brother had but a very small 



VISIT TO CORK. 1T7 

class, and it had continued stationary for years. Our friend 
whispered in his ear, " Brother, for a long time you have 
had but a few names at the head of that paper ; why don't 
you get some of Satan's servants brought down to the foot 
of the cross ? He has too many of them ; get some of them 
converted, and fill your paper with their names." 

The good man thought it reflected on his efficiency as a 
leader, and exclaimed aloud, " All persons are not such good 
recruiting sergeants as you are." 

This drew the attention of the meeting ; and some, who 
had been troubled upon the subject in their own case, were 
aroused ; and, lest he should come down upon them once 
more, several eloquent speeches were made, with convincing 
arguments, showing why he was more successful than them- 
selves. One very strong reason was suggested, " That he 
had a talent peculiar to himself ; and that neither God nor 
reasonable men would require them to do what he did." 

For some time he endeavored to prove that they were 
wrong, but to no purpose ; at length he could keep his seat 
no longer, and claimed the floor for a few minutes. 

" Brethren," he said, " let us look at and inspect this man 
of ' peculiar talent,' and see how or wherein he differs from, 
or has advantages over, the leaders of this meeting. 

" First : Is it in his riches f No ; he is as poor a man as 
any among you. Then it is not in his wealth. 

" Second : Is it in his influence , flowing from high connec- 
tions, or having been born and bred in your city ? No ; he 
has no natural relations here ; and, moreover, he is a stran- 
ger from the north of Ireland ; who, after being worn out in 
the army, came to your city with a shattered constitution. 
Therefore it is not in his connections nor in his health. 

" Third : Is it in his beauty t No ; he is as course a look 
ing man as any of you. 



178 VISIT TO CORK. 

" Fourth : Is it in his learning ? No ; for he has »ever 
been at school to learn to read or write ; but he has good 
reason to suppose many of you have been favored with 
expensive educations. Here you have the advantage of 
him. 

" Fifth : Is it in being master of his time that enables him 
to do what you suppose yourselves incapable of doing ? No ; 
he must attend to his business from six in the morning till 
seven or eight in the evening, and he has no time to visit 
till late at night. Here he stands on no vantage ground, 

" Sixth : Does his success arise from his eloquence ? No \ 
for want of learning he has barely words to express his ideas. 
Here he is inferior to his brethren. 

" Seventh : Is it his talents that do the work ? No ; he 
has just one talent ; and as I hope you are all converted men, 
you have, at least, one also ; for as God commands every 
soul he converts to c go work in my vineyard,' and always 
gives them a talent to occupy till their Lord calls them to au 
account, blessed be God, he has given me one also. Neither 
in this has he any advantage. 

" Eighth : Well, is it in his holiness $ No ; it would be 
pride to suppose he has as much grace as most of you. 

" But, notwithstanding, there is a great difference between 
him and you ; will you allow me to tell you wherein it lies ? 

" Well, when you are toasting yourselves at your parlor 
fires on winter nights, or indolently lounging at home 
on summer evenings, he is scampering from Blackpool to 
Evergreen, from the Custom House to Dyke Gate, from 
n#rth to south, from east to west of the city ; in the dark- 
ness of the night, in all weathers, — hail, rain, wind, or 
snow ; from cellar to garret, to rich and to poor, to see who 
ne can get to lend an ear to his counsels. He patiently 
listens to their complaints, he has a shoulder for all then 



VISIT TO CORK. 179 

crosses, lie lets them feel he loves them by taking a kind 
interest in what concerns them, and gives the best advice he 
can for both worlds ; in this way he convinces them of his 
disinterested love, he gains influence, he prevails upon them 
to attend the preaching of God's word, to read it at home, 
and pray for the Holy Spirit. By these means they are 
brought under a concern for their souls ; he gets them into 
his classes, and they are soon converted to God. This is 
the way, my brethren, he fills his ranks, and his classes over- 
flow. Has he made a secret of his plans ? Has he not over 
and over again urged you to adopt the same measures, in- 
sisting that equal causes will produce equal effects the world 
over ? and he now, in the name of God, humbly presses the 
same upon your consciences. If you will go and do likewise, 
the same results will surely follow. It is not in the man, 
but in the manner in which his talent is occupied.' ' 

All the leaders dropped their heads and were silent, with 
the exception of one very clever local preacher, whose feel- 
ings were not unlike young Elihu's, when he saw that Job 
had confounded his three counsellors, Eliphaz, Bildad, and 
Zophar, and said, " Behold, there was none of you that con- 
vinced Job, or that answered his words. Now he hath not 
directed his words against me ; neither will I answer him 
with your speeches. They were amazed, they answered no 
more ; they left off speaking. When I had waited, (for 
they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more ;) I 
said, I will answer also my part, I will also shew mine opinion. 
For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. 
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent ; it is ready 
to burst like new bottles. I will speak, that I may be 
refreshed : I will open my lips and answer." Job xxxii. 
12 — 20. 

Thus it was, probably, with this good brother. He threv 



180 VISIT TO CORK. 

his soul into it, and reasoned powerfully. Men will make 
speecLes, lay down rules, and discuss principles ; yea, do 
any thing and every thing but the " real matter-of-fact work ;" 
hard, patient, steady, humiliating, and painful drudgery of 
saving souls from hell ; in the shop, as in the parlor ; in the 
cellar, garret, street, or field, as in the house of God. When 
he had refreshed himself the venerable man rose and asked 
the brother, " Don't you keep a shop ?" 

" I do," was the reply. 

" Well, suppose I could tell you of an article, by dealing 
in which, on fair and honest principles, you could clear five 
hundred pounds per annum, would you not come to me to 
learn the secret?" 

"I would." 

" I believe you ; and what does this prove in your case, 
but that you love money better than the souls bought with 
Jesus Christ's most precious blood, else you would have come 
to me to learn this wonderful charm you conceive I possess 
for converting souls." 

The person who related the above, concluded by remark- 
ing : " That local preacher entered eternity soon after, and he 
now knows whether he won as many souls for Christ as was 
possible in his state of probation." 

Conversing with this " good soldier of Jesus Christ," the 
other day, he remarked, "Once, only, these thirty-two years 
have I been obliged to part with one from my class, whom I 
thought a true penitent, without obtaining pardon ;" adding, 
" I let not a penitent rest till he has obtained this blessing, 
for the following reasons : — 

" First : It would grieve the Holy Spirit. 

" Second : It would prove my want of love to souls, and 
faith in the truth and power of God. The Samaritan not 
only touched the man who had been robbed and wounded 



VISIT TO CORK. 181 

by the thieves, and left half dead, but, after binding up his 
wounds, he lifted him on his beast, and brought him to 
safe lodgings. 

" Third : It would give Satan many advantages in per- 
plexing and distracting the mind. 

" Fourth : It would set a bad example to all who may be 
present, as well as to those who should hear of the circum 
stance. 

" Fifth : It would tend to weaken my own faith ; but I 
want it strengthened both in myself and others. 

" Sixth : As unbelief is the awful, damning sin under the 
gospel, he who can be the means of accelerating its destruc- 
tion in the heart of another, and does not ; neither loves his 
neighbor as he ought, nor is he a loyal subject of his heaven- 
ly King ; nor ought he to be very confident of his own adop- 
tion into the family of God." 

I know you will excuse me for writing so much about this 
dear man ; I love him, and have derived much benefit to my 
own soul from his conversation. 

The 9th instant was my birth-day. As usual, I observed 
the 8th as a private watch-night, and had a most solemn time 
in dedicating myself anew to God. A review of the past 
year was attended with deep humiliation and gratitude. 
Since then I have enjoyed more abiding peace, and sweeter 
communion with my heavenly Father, than at any time since 
my arrival in Ireland. About thirty sinners have been con- 
verted. I wish I could have stated a larger number. My 
soul is much humbled. We are resolved, by the help of God, 
to push our principles to the utmost for an extensive revival. 
Hammer on a rock long enough, and it must break in pieces. 
This is true, to some extent, with mind. God's word is as a 
hammer to break the rocky hearts in pieces before the Lord. 
16 



182 VISIT TO CORK. 

I met with the following sentiments of an old writer, the 
other day : " Men will wrangle for religion ; write for it ; 
fight for it ; die for it ; any thing but live for it." I can 
say, in behalf of the preachers and leaders in Cork, that they 
seem not only willing to fight with spiritual weapons for a 
revival, to die, if it be God's will, in the tremendous conflict, 
but to live for a revival in the most spiritual sense of that 
term. I do believe, with my whole soul, God will not dis- 
appoint them. 

In a letter dated May 9, 1842, we find a continuance of 
his descriptions of the work of God and of his personal move- 
ments while he remained in Cork. He there says : — 

I have been in this city nearly two months, engaged in 
my beloved work of calling sinners to repentance. As I 
take exercise every day, for an hour or two, either in riding 
or walking, an opportunity has been afforded me for making 
a few observations which may perhaps gratify and amuse 
you. Cork is seated on the river Lee, about fifteen miles 
from the ocean ; is the capital of the county bearing the 
same name, and the second city in the kingdom. It has 
long been considered " the metropolis, and the grand em- 
porium " of the south of Ireland. The ancient city origin- 
ally covered an island, formed by two branches of the Lee, 
which divided above and joined again below the island. 
Spenser, in his " Faerie Queene," describes it thus, — 

" The spreading Lee u that like an island fair 
Encloseth Cork with his divided flood." 

The united Lee and the salt water mix below the city and 
form a commodious harbor. Ancient Cork partook of the 
shape of the island, \fhich resembled an egg. It was walled 
and fortified by the Danes, about the middle of the ninth 



VISIT TO CORK. 183 

century, but in consequence of the lowness of its position, 
could never have been a place of much strength. 

Modern Cork has spread herself over a cluster of little 
marshy islands, separated by small branches of the river. 
The channels, however, are now arched over, and wide 
streets occupy their places. The two main branches which 
encompass the city are still open, and are called the north 
and south channels, and afford a fine harbor for the shipping. 
I understand there is a resemblance, in this respect, between 
Cork and most of the cities in Holland. Although its posi- 
tion seems to be unfavorable to health, I am not aware that 
it is any more unhealthy than other cities in Ireland. Many 
years ago it was visited by severe epidemics, but in conse- 
quence of valuable improvements, such as arching the vari- 
ous canals, and raising, though at an immense expense, vast 
portions of the marshy ground, such visitations have been 
rare for many years. Besides, the tides of the ocean have 
free access, daily, through all these covered channels. Their 
ebbs and flows, together with the current of a swift river, 
give such a brisk circulation of pure water through these 
concealed arteries and veins as keep them perfectly clean. 
"Were it not for the cleanliness of Cork, (I speak of its 
covered channels and sewers of different kinds, for some of 
the streets are very narrow and dirty, especially in the 
ancient part of the city,) I should judge it could not escape 
epidemics. The marshy ground upon which it is built, the 
heavy fogs which settle upon it, and the immense quantities 
of rain which descend in the course of a year, not less, I am 
informed, than an average of thirty-eight inches, would lead 
a stranger to this conclusion. Since my arrival I have had 
excellent health ; but, could you see the elevated and lovely 
spot where I reside, and which I am requested, by the most 
convincing and substantial forms of Irish hospitality, to call 



184 VISIT TO CORK. 

my home, and the beautiful prospects spread around me on 
every side, with elegant grounds, and walks shaded with lofty 
trees,— 

" Where meditation 
Might think down hours to minutes, where the 
Heart might give a useful lesson to the head, 
And learning, wiser grow, without her books," — 

you would not wonder that I enjoy the " full tide of health," 
and of what the world calls " good spirits." So much for 
" Hayneld ;" but it is in the pleasant society of Mr. Perrot's 
excellent and intelligent family I enjoy that which, " Whilst 
by numbers sought, is realized by few," — real happiness. 
There is just one drawback, and it belongs to all things of 
an earthly nature, I must soon bid these pleasant scenes 
farewell ; and once more " a stranger stand, unknowing and 
unknown ;" so that the sentiment can only be realized in 
heaven, " A perpetuity of bliss, is bliss." I know these 
items of my personal comforts will not be uninteresting to 
you ; and I would add another, which an excellent author 
says is " a main article of human happiness, — the exercise 
of our faculties, whether of body or mind, in the pursuit of 
some engaging end." What that " engaging end " is, 
which absorbs my whole being, you very well know, — the 
conversion of sinners to God. 

As I have digressed so far, allow me to tell you something 
better than all. My soul enjoys deep and almost uninter- 
rupted communion with God. This throws a brightening 
charm upon every thing around me, and imparts a relish for 
all that is beautiful and grand in the works of nature and 
art, or whatever is engaging and pleasant in human society. 
For, as Bishop Home says, " He who hath his thoughts 
about him, can enjoy no bodily pleasure while he thinks his 
gtoul is in danger of hell fire ; but the reflection, that all is 



VISIT TO CORE, 185 

right with respect to another world, doubles every joy that 
he can taste in this." 

" The mind that feels no smart, 
Enlivens all it sees." 

But I have more glorious news to tell you ; the revival is 
still going forward with power. Yesterday, (Sabbath,) a 
glorious day ! ten converted and two backsliders restored ; 
one of the latter had wandered from God sixteen years, the 
other seven. 

I think it scarcely necessary to occupy your time with a 
description of the public buildings, and other interesting 
objects of this kind, as they are so similar to those which are 
peculiar to all large and commercial cities. The Cathedral 
is respectable, but not ancient. There are also several 
handsome parish churches. I think the St. Ann's, Shandon, 
has a more imposing aspect than the Cathedral. It has a 
tower one hundred and seventy feet high, two sides of which 
are limestone, and two of brown stone, which give it a sin- 
gular appearance ; and a good chime of bells, as you may 
learn from an old Cork poet, in exile : 

With deep affection, 
And recollection, 
I often think on 

Those Shandon bells ; 
•Whose sound so wild, would 
In days of childhood, 
Fling round ray cradle 

Their magic spells. 

On this I ponder, 

Where'er I wander, 

And thus grow fonder * 

Sweet Cork, of thee ; 
With thy bells of Shandon, 
That sound so grand on 
The pleasant waters 

Of the river Lee. 

16* 



186 VISIT TO CORK. 

There are also the usual number of churches belonging to 
the existing denominations of Christendom. The Roman 
Catholics are the most numerous. The Wesleyan Metho- 
dists have another handsome chapel, besides the one I have 
already described, but much smaller. 

I have not ascertained the exact population of Cork, but I 
should judge it nearly twice as large as that of the city of 
Albany, N. Y. ; and the population of Limerick double that 
of Troy, N. Y. Are you aware that a tomb in this city con 
tains the dust of our beloved Boardman ? I say our Board 
man, because his name shall be for ever identified with 
American Methodism. Upon an early and prominent page 
of the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church is enshrined, 
among a few others, the name of Richard Boardman. It is 
also recognized by hundreds of thousands in our book of dis- 
cipline. He died in Cork, A. D. 1783. On referring to 
the minutes of the English Conference for 1769, which was 
that year held in Leeds, Yorkshire, I find the following 
record. Mr. Wesley proposed the question : — 

" We have a pressing call from our brethren in New York, 
(who have built a preaching-house,) to come over and help 
them. Who is willing to go ? 

" Answer : Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor." 

These were the first regular Methodist preachers in Amer- 
ica. Mr. Boardman remained long enough in the western 
world to have his ministry blessed to many thousands ; but 
the revolutionary war breaking out, circumstances obliged 
him to sail for England, and he never returned. Mr. Wes 
ley appointed him to this city in 1782. The following 
account of his death I extract from the Methodist Magazine 
for 1783 : — 

" On the 29th September, 1782, Mr. Richard Boardman, 
having been about eleven days in Cork, when walking, was 



VISIT TO CORK. 18T 

suddenly struck blind, so that he could not find his way, till 
one of our friends met him and took him by the hand. Soon 
after, he recovered himself, and sat down to dinner. Upon 
doing so he was immediately deprived both of speech and 
understanding, one of his sides being at the same time 
strongly contracted. After a few hours he became nearly 
well ; in a few days perfectly so. His mind was calm and 
serene ; no anxiety about life or death. A few days before, 
on leaving Limerick, he told Mrs. B. that he should die in 
Cork ; but he spoke it without the least concern, as knowing 
in whom he had believed. He preached twice after receiv- 
ing the shock. The Sabbath previous to his first intimation 
of his call, he preached from, ' Though he slay me, yet will 
I trust in him ;' and it was a solemn meeting. On Friday 
morning he appeared easy, and met the people at the hour 
of intercession, when it was observed that he had an uncom- 
mon degree of freedom and power with God. He prayed 
fervently for the people, and begged that if this was the last 
meeting in this world, they might have a happy meeting in 
the realms of light. 

" About three o'clock in the afternoon, he went to dine 
with a friend in Blarney lane. As he was walking, his wife 
observed him to falter in his speech, and desired him to 
return, but he would not comply. As soon as he came into 
the house he sunk down insensible. He was brought home 
in a carriage, and two physicians were sent for. They both 
declared him beyond help. He continued thus till nine in 
the evening. He then expired in the arms of two of his 
brethren, and in the presence of many who commended him 
to God, with sorrowful hearts and weeping eyes. His funeral 
sermon was preached by Mr. Yewdall, from Revelation xiv. 
13, to as large a congregation as had ever been seen in the 
Cork chapel.' ' 



188 VISIT TO CORK. 






A few days ago a young brother conducted me to hi* 
grave, which is near to the Cathedral. I cannot well ex- 
press to you my sensations on beholding it. We knelt down 
upon the stone, and worshipped God. With deep emotion I 
exclaimed, " What hath God wrought " in America since 
precious Boardman visited those shores ! Then, there were 
not more than two hundred members in our societies, on the 
entire continent ; now, in the United States alone, we have 
nearly one million of members ! After prayer, I copied the 
following from the plain slab which covers his dust : — 

EICHAED BOARDMAN, 

Departed this life October 4th, 1782, 

JEtatis 44. 

Beneath this stone, the dust of Boardman lies, 
His precious soul has soared above the skies ; 
With eloquence divine, he preached the word 
To multitudes, and turned them to the Lord. 
His bright example strengthened what he taught, 
And devils trembled when for Christ he fought. 
With truly Christian zeal he nations fired, 
And all who knew him mourned when he expired. 

Perhaps the following remarkable interposition of Divine 
Providence, in behalf of this man of God, might be interest- 
ing to you. It was related by himself, a short time before 
his death : — 

" I preached," said Mr. B., " one evening, at Mould, in 
Flintshire, and next morning set out for Parkgate. After 
riding some miles I asked a man if I was on the road to that 
place. He answered, ' Yes, but you will have some sands to 
go over, and unless you ride fast, you will be in danger of 
being inclosed by the tide.' 

" It then began to snow to such a degree that I could 
scarcely see a step of my way, and my mare being with foal 



VISIT TO CORK. 189 

prevented me from riding so fast as I otherwise should have 
done. I got to the sands, and pursued my journey over 
them for some time ; but the tide then came in, and sur- 
rounded me on every side, so that I could neither proceed 
nor turn back ; and to ascend the perpendicular rocks was 
impossible. In this situation I commended my soul to God, 
net having the least expectation of escaping death. In a 
little time I perceived two men running down a hill on the 
other side of the water, and by some means they got a boat, 
and came to my relief just as the sea had reached my knees, 
as I sat on my saddle. They took me into the boat, the 
mare swimming by our side, till we reached the land. While 
we were in the boat, one of the men said, 6 Surely, Sir, God 
is with you.' 

" I answered, ' I trust he is.' 

" The man replied, ' I know he is f and then related the 
following circumstance : ' Last night I dreamed that I must 
go to the top of such a hill. When I awoke the dream made 
such an impression on my mind that I could not rest. I 
therefore went and called upon this man to accompany me. 
When we came to the place, we saw nothing more than usual. 
However, I begged him to go with me to another hill at a 
small distance, and there we saw your distressed situation.' 
When we got ashore, I went with my two friends to a public 
house, not far distant from where we landed ; and, as we 
were relating the wonderful providence, the landlady said, 
' This day month we saw a gentleman just in your situation ; 
but before we could hasten to his relief he plunged into the 
sea, supposing, as we concluded, that his horse would swim to 
the shore ; but they both sank, and were drowned together.' 

" I gave my deliverers all the money I had, which I think 
was about eighteenpence, and tarried all night at the hotel. 
Next morning I was not a little embarrassed how to pay my 



190 VISIT TO CORK. 






reckoning, for the want of cash, and begged that the land 
lord would keep a pair of silver spurs till I should redeem 
them ; but he answered, ' The Lord bless you, Sir ! I would 
not take a farthing from you for the world.' After some 
serious conversation with the friendly people, I bade them 
farewell, and re-commenced my journey, rejoicing in the 
Lord, and praising him for his great salvation." 

On the 20 th ult. a party of us visited the famous Blarney 
Castle. It stands in a pleasant vale, on the banks of a little 
river of the same name, five miles from Cork. A square 
tower, one hundred feet in front, fifty in breadth, and one 
hundred and thirty feet high, is all that remains of this once 
flourishing castle, with the exception of a small castellated 
battery close by. A singular awe crept over my mind on 
first beholding it from a neighboring eminence. It stands 
alone, surrounded with ancient trees, but rising far above 
them, frowning upon their aspiring branches, as if haughtily 
demanding the respectful homage of other days, when favored 
with the radiant smiles of fortune. The storms of four cen- 
turies have made little impression upon its aspect, other than 
those hoary hues which the Scriptures say are a crown of 
glory to an aged man, when found in the ways of righteous- 
ness. One feels willing, when approaching its peaceful ram- 
parts, to award such a tribute of respectful veneration to 
Blarney Castle. The sound of the bugle and clash of arms 
are heard here no more. Royalty and grandeur have long 
since fled away. The stir and din of multitudes have sub 
sided into the stillness of death. No sentinel challenge*, 
your approaching footsteps. All is deep, dread, unbroken 
solitude : — 

"Not a sound, save nature's own, 
Could o'er the silence swell, 
To jar the chords of quiet thought, 
Or break seclusion's spell." 



VISIT TO CORK. 191 

It & l>uilt > "iJk^ most of the castles in this country, upon a rock. 
The eMs facing the river rise about fifty feet. The opposite 
side of the castle is on a level, in its lower story, with an exten- 
sive lawn or meadow sprinkled with fine trees. We ascended 
to the top by a spiral stone staircase, of the same workman- 
ship as these near Limerick. It is roofless and floorless ; but 
there is a substantial promenade on the top, inside the para- 
pet, which widens towards the south and east, by means of 
machicolated parapets. These rest upon projecting corbells, 
having openings or crenells at proper distances, through 
which, I have been told, in former days of hazard and blood, 
they poured down melted lead, and other destructive mate- 
rials, upon the unfortunate heads of the besiegers. The 
prospect from the top is very good ; but, considering the 
length of my letter, you will excuse the omission of a descrip- 
tion. I was interested with the various windings of thre« 
small streams, neighboring the castle ; Blarney, Cormane, 
and Scorthenac. The celebrated "Blarney stone" was 
pointed out to us. You have often heard of the suspicious 
phrase, " A little blarney." This phrase originated from 
some legend belonging to this Blarney stone. It is currently 
reported here, and the reputed facts of the case have circu- 
lated from father to son, through many generations, that 
who ever kisses it will always have a flattering, cajoling 
tongue ; from that moment he is enabled to tell the smooth- 
est and most insinuating lies without a blush ! Now " don't 
be after putting on " that look of incredulity, so peculiar to 
American unbelievers, and which has frightened many a poor 
Irishman among you out of half his story. But you must 
hear an Irish poet, by some called the "Mellifluent Millikin," 
describe its wonder-working properties : — 

" There is a stone there, who ever kisses, 
Oh ! he never misses to grow eloquent ; 



192 VISIT TO CORK. 

'Tis he may clamber ***** 
Or become a member of Parliament. 
A clever spouter, he'll sure turn out, or 
An out and outer, to be let alone ; 
Don't hope to hinder him, or bewilder him ; 
Sure he's a pilgrim to the Blarney stone." 

Another writer tells us, in plain unvarnished prose, that 
touch of this stone " makes a liar of the first magnitude ; at 
the same time, a smooth graceful liar ;" that " its eminent 
perfection is a sweet persuasive language, than can whisper 
the softest words into the ears of those who are to be de- 
ceived ; full of guile and blandishment, and potential flattery, 

and uncontrollable suasion over the credulity of ." 

This stone I saw, if our guide were correct ; but I assure 
you my lips were not within a yard of it. It is recorded 
that Sir Walter Scott made a pilgrimage to it, in August, 
1825, in company with some others, and that he passed 
through the ceremony of kissing it. * 

I write by the present packet to my Conference. My 
desire is to continue my tour. Nearly two years have 
expired since its commencement. It is doubtful whether I 
shall return before 1844. My letter contains a request for 
a " location," according to the discipline of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. I have asked for such a relation, con- 
scientiously, that I may not infringe upon any of the rights 
of the Members of Conference. By their approbation I have 
continued my tour till now. Last year I sent them the cer- 
tificate of my ministerial character from the quarterly meet- 
ing of the Wesleyan Methodist Society, Montreal ; and this 
year I send another from a similar meeting of the same body 
in Cork. Should they grant me a location, it separates me 
from any future claims upon the funds of the church ; that 
is, should my health fail, or any unforeseen difficulty arise in 
ray temporal affairs, before I rejoin the itinerant ranks ; but 



VISIT TO CORK. 193 

it secures me till then, or through life, the office of an 
ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
America ; I mean so long as my character is becoming a 
minister of the gospel. I shall then have the privilege of 
continuing my tour without embarrassment.* 

We find that upwards of a hundred sinners have been 
converted to God since the revival began. The " signs of 
the times" are glorious in Cork. lam quite uncertain as 
to the period of my departure ; we want several hundred 
sinners to be converted first. 

* Mr. Caughey's request for a location was cheerfully granted, and a certi 
ficate from Bishop Hedding, bearing the date of July 9, 1842, duly forwarded 
to him. 



17 



CHAPTER XIII. 

EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS IN CORK AND BANDON. 

This chapter is a medley. It treats of a great variety 
of topics. The two cases of restitution it records are re- 
markable illustrations of Mr. Caughey's power of moving the 
conscience. Perhaps in no one feature is his power so 
marked as in this. No unpardoned sinner can avoid a sense of 
guilt under his appeals : hence the many examples of resti- 
tution and of complaints from sinners, that some one had told 
him their histories. 

Bandon yielded less fruit to Mr. Caughey's labors than 
any other place he visited while in Europe. It was indeed 
a stronghold of the Enemy, which would not yield very much 
to his "revival artillery." Yet even there, some were " slain 
of the Lord." Possibly a restraint on his success was as 
needful to Mr. Caughey as the thorn in the flesh was to 
Paul — it confirmed him in his well cultured principle of 
the necessity of divine aid to ministerial success. 

The opening paragraphs are extracted from a letter to his 
sister in America, and contain an account of his closing 
labors in Cork, and of the incident which determined him to 
visit Bandon. 

My work is nearly finished in Cork. It gives me great 
satisfaction to find God's dear people so generally convinced 

194 






CORK AND BANDON. 195 

that this is a real revival of religion. I should have left two 
or three weeks since, but their entreaties to remain a little 
longer have been overpowering. Awakened sinners, too, 
have taken the alarm, and the general cry has been, " Surely 
he will not leave us when he finds himself encompassed by 
such a crowd of penitent souls." I cannot express the sen- 
sations which have swept over my soul in beholding the large 
communion filled every night with seekers of salvation. 
Their tears and sobs, and subdued cries for mercy, have 
been sometimes profoundly awful. You will, no doubt, be 
anxious to know the number of these trophies of Divine 
Love. I cannot state precisely the number of persons con- 
verted to God. We had a meeting for this purpose three 
weeks ago, and nearly two hundred of them present ; there 
were many others, but they were unable to attend that par- 
ticular meeting, and we have not had a similar one since. 
The work is still advancing with increasing power. A short 
account of the above select meeting may be interesting to you. 
We had those who have been lately born of the Spirit 
seated by themselves in the centre seats of the chapel. 
After a solemn and pointed address, in which their duties, 
responsibilities, and dangers, were faithfully urged upon their 
attention, they were called forward to the communion rails. 
Several important questions were then proposed to them ; 
their names, places of residence, and the leader of their 
choice, were carefully taken. They then knelt down, and- 
were commended in prayer to the guidance and protection 
of the Almighty. The congregation, admitted by ticket, 
then arose, while the young converts remained kneeling, 
and we sang, — 

"0 happy day that fixed my choice 

On thee, my Saviour and my God ! 
Well may this glowing heart rejoice, 

And tell its raptures all abroad." 



196 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

While the last two lines were being sung they retired to 
their seats, and another company came forward, and were 
prayed for, and dismissed in the same way, until all had 
thus presented themselves at the altar of God. 

The service was most impressive. Many tears were shed 
by the members of the society, who were seated in the gallery, 
but especially by the young converts. Such a scene of en- 
tire consecration of body, soul, and spirit, to the service of 
God, with such an influence from heaven, many of the oldest 
saints say they never had witnessed before. Assist me, my 
dear sister, in praising God for his abounding goodness, 
"Which always causeth me the triumph in Christ, and maketh 
manifest the savor of his love," by your unworthy brother, 
" in every place." 

I have been contemplating a visit to England for several 
weeks, and have had many very pressing invitations from 
the Rev. William Lord, formerly a Wesleyan Missionary in 
Canada ; and were it not for the following circumstance I 
would sail immediately for that country : — 

Some weeks since I wrote to Mr. Lord, in Hull, stating 
that I was nearly ready to leave Ireland, requesting the 
route to Hull, and where I should find a home on my arrival. 
When my letter reached Hull, Mr. Lord had gone to the 
Conference in London. Mrs. Lord forwarded my letter to 
him, and he wrote to a brother in Hull, respecting my in- 
tentions, requesting him to write to me in Cork. He then 
folded my letter inside the one he had written to the friend, 
and directed the entire to me at Cork. It arrived, and to 
my surprise I found my own letter returned. I saw at once 
it was a mistake, and concluded that Providence desired to 
retain me in Ireland for a longer time. 

Since then I have engaged to visit Bandon, a pleasan 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 197 

town a few miles from this city. I shall leave for that place 
on Saturday, the 30th instant, if God permit. 

We continue this chapter with extracts from another. letter 
addressed to an American friend, from Bandon. It refers 
to his Temperance labors while yet in Cork, and to his open- 
ing revival movements in Bandon. He says : — 

On Saturday, 30th July, I left Cork for Bandon. Before 
I bade adieu to Cork, I felt it my duty to deliver a few lec- 
tures on Temperance. Some battled hard for the wine 
bottle, but nobly surrendered to the convincing arguments 
of tee-totalism. A society was formed, denominated, " The 
Cork Young Men's Total Abstinence Society," that is, " total 
abstinence 1 ' from all intoxicating drinks. The meetings were 
animated, and several of the brethren advocated the cause 
most eloquently. The young society was in a very flourish- 
ing condition when I left, and those who had joined it well 
satisfied with the step they had taken. 

This cause, like every other benevolent institution of the 
day, requires to be kept in motion by a stirring and vigorous 
advocacy. What would become of Missionary, Bible, Tract, 
and other kindred Societies, without public meetings, and 
the powerful and arousing speeches delivered on such oc- 
casions ? What would become of the church and the Christ- 
ian world, notwithstanding the hold which the gospel and the 
Bible have upon the consciences of the population, if gospel 
sermons were as " few and far between" as are addresses on 
total abstinence ? If sin and its servants would, in such a 
case, blight or root out the cause of truth and true religion 
from the church and from the world, the same results, under 
like circumstances, will unquestionably attend the cause of 
temperance on total abstinence principles ; alcohol, with its 
grogshops and votaries, would soon undo all that has been 
17* 



198 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

done to cleanse our globe from the sin of drunkenness. The 
Temperance Society will prosper in Cork, if its friends will 
not allow it to sleep ; but, if they do, it will soon come to 
an end, and they will have none to blame for it but them 
selves, 

I have written to them since I came to Bandon, offering 
them this motto, Action ! Action! ! Action! ! ! Not that I 
would advise any of them to make it a hobby in preaching, 
in prayer meetings, in class meetings, or in love-feasts, as 
this would only tend to prejudice and disgust those who are 
not yet convinced ; but to plan their public meetings so as 
not to give drunkards and temperate drinkers, time to check 
their uneasiness or fortify themselves before another discharge 
of temperance truth is poured into their entrenchments. 
Let the friends not be afraid of a little money ; let them 
call forward the best speakers of the day : whatever talent 
God has enlisted against alcoholic drinks, let them wield 
against the hydra-headed monster, and punch and wine, 
and ale and porter drinking will become quite as unfashion- 
able in respectable families in Cork, as in America. You 
know the battle we had to fight in America, and the results : 
that upon the tables and side-boards of thousands of families, 
those drinks were not to be seen ; the effects upon the rising 
generation, as well as upon the morals and religious move- 
ments of the adult population, eternity alone will reveal 
We can never know the final results in time, great as they 
are acknowledged to be. 

A few days before I left Cork, Father Mathew honored 
me with a visit. We had a very agreeable conversation for 
three quarters of an hour on temperance. He seems an ex- 
cellent man, full of benevolence and good will to all classes 
of his fellow-men ; and determined, while he fives, to prose- 
cute with nis characteristic ardor, the cause of temperance, 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 199 

for the promotion of which, it would appear, God has raised 
him up. 

If Mr. Mathew can only succeed in steering his tempe- 
rance ship clear of the rocks of political intrigue, which 
seems to be the fixed purpose of his heart, the elevating and 
glorious results in the future history of Ireland, can no more 
be doubted, than the beneficial influence upon the millions of 
tee-totallers already enrolled beneath his temperance banners. 
There is not, I presume, a Protestant in Ireland, that has not 
been forced into the acknowledgment of a change, not, of 
course, in the Roman Catholic religion, but in the moral 
habits of the people in reference to intoxicating drinks and 
drunkenness. The fruits of the reformation, sobriety and 
elevation of moral character, are such as cannot be denied, 
their enemies themselves being witnesses. 

I opened my commission here on Sabbath, 31st of July, 
in the use of that text, Heb. vii. 25 ; since then, have been 
preaching four nights in the week, and twice on the Sabbath. 
A few have been converted to God. The influence upon 
the Wesleyan church, is very gracious indeed, but the in- 
habitants generally seem as yet unmoved. The good citizens, 
as far as we have become acquainted, treat me with great 
civility, but on the subject of religion, the general state of the 
public mind appears to be, "I pray thee have me excused I" 

The congregations are tolerable, but our doings or sayings, 
excite but very little interest beyond the families of Method- 
ism ; why, I cannot tell. Popularity or influence over a 
community, is, especially when a good man is concerned, the 
gift of God ; but the Lord does not seem to deliver them 
into my hand, and, I greatly fear, I stepped oat of the order 
of God in coming here at all. Yesterday, I was much cast 
down and sorely buffeted by the enemy. I have experienced 
nothing like it since I left Dublin. 



200 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

A few days ago I, received the following letter: — 

'MY VERY DEAR AND WORTHY FRIEND, 

I have sent to London, lately, <£400., in half notes, the 
first halves directed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and 
the corresponding ones to the Duke of Wellington, (conceal- 
ing my name,) with the request that the receipt might be 
acknowledged in the London Times newspaper, and a copy 
of the said paper to be forwarded to the Rev. James 
Caughey, Methodist minister, Bandon ; as I mentioned, that 
it was through the instrumentallity of your preaching, that 
the money was restored. I would be glad to know, when 
you receive the paper, and will be thankful that you will keep 
it for me. I constantly remember you when on my knees, 
and the prayer I offer up is, that the Almighty may keep 

you in the same humble state that you were in while in , 

and that many more souls may be given for your hire. Oh ! 
pray for me. I remain, dear Sir, your most affectionate 

brother in Jesus Christ, 

— — — — " 

The paper referred to now lies before me, with the ac- 
knowledgment therein, the Chancellor's name on the wrapper. 
I am about to write to the individual. When in Cork, a 
person was convinced of the necessity of restitution, of a sum 
much less than the above, in consequence of having cheated 
the revenue, fifteen years ago ; I assisted the poor fellow by 
obtaining the advice of a revenue officer, and penned for him 
a letter to the Chancellor, signed " conscience money," which 
he sent by post. 

While upon this subject, you will be gratified to learn 
another case of restitution, and it may, perhaps, serve to ex- 
plain the secret why * * * and * * * act in such a singular 
manner. While in * * * , and during the revival, a person 



IN COEK AND BANDON. 501 

who resided in * * * street experienced a clear sense of the 
pardoning love of God, and joined the Methodist church. 
Her husband no sooner knew of it than he began to persecute 
her ; he vowed vengeance against her, and in one or two 
instances knocked her down to the floor with his fist. She 
bore it with the patience of a real Christian. Few knew her 
troubles, but she stood fast, and clung to God and his people. 
A short sime after I arrived at * * *, I was surprised in meet- 
ing the man in a shop. He drew me aside hastily, and begged 
I would not call him by the name he had at * * *, but by 
* * *, as the latter was his real name. We walked out together, 
and he expressed himself as having become " quite a new 
man." " But," I inquired, " why did you conduct yourself 
so to your wife in * * * ? you acted as if the devil were in 
you ! " The substance of his reply was, " I was very un- 
happy. But I should remark, first, I have abandoned the 
use of liquor ; and, secondly, God has compelled me to be- 
come an honest man. The secret of my opposition to 
my wife was, I had no hopes of salvation myself. To be 
short, Sir, I formerly resided at * * * in * * * ; I ran away 
from my creditors, and kept several thousands in my posses- 
sion. I changed my name at * * * to avoid detection ; but, 
Sir 3 1 have made restitution, and I have obtained great peace 
of mind. My soul was tormented ; God began also to afflict 
my body, and convinced me, that it was on account of my 
dishonesty. My disease has disappeared with my mental 
distress, and I am now a happy man." 

I have been doubting in my mind, whether you will be 
satisfied with me, for filling up my letter with these restitu- 
tion cases ; still, as they serve to illustrate the power of the 
gospel, in casting out bad principles, by the expulsive force 
of those peculiarly its own ; I hope the relation, on that ao 
count, may not be uninteresting. 



202 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

My soul is frequently assailed by the grand adversary ; 
but often, when the enemy comes in as a flood, the Spirit of 
God raises up a standard against him. In general, my 
peace and rest in God are soul satisfying. He is my object 
and aim. If I have any happiness, it is in Him. I have 
much to humble me, but " covered is my unrighteousness." 
The blood of Jesus Christ has washed away my guilt and 
stains. I rest upon the merits of the atonement, and have 
the victory ; and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth me from 
all sin. what a happiness is this ! The revival is going 
on very slowly here, which gives the enemy much advantage 
in harassing my soul. 

The following paragraphs form a sort of episode in tne 
narrative ; yet as they show the workings of his mind, while 
in Bandon, their insertion is not deemed inappropriate. It 
seems some ministerial friend in America had written to Mr. 
Caughey in terms of admiration at his successes, and almost 
in a spirit of discontent at the comparative want of similar 
fruitfulness in his own ministry. This reply is worthy of Mr. 
Caughey's head and heart, and will assuredly profit many a 
minister who is discouraged from kindred causes : it com- 
mences with certain references to his friend's letter : — 

Permit me, in the outset, to oppose the following verse to 
yours : — 

" Thick waters show no images of things ; 

Friends are each other's mirrors, and should be 
Clearer than crystal or the mountain springs, 
And free from cloud, design, or flattery." 

I allow all you say on "contraries illustrating contraries ;" 
" the two fields of grain, one thin, shrunk, and shrivelled ; 
the other, rich and luxuriant ;" the " two clouds, presenting 
their contraries of darkness and brightness, gloom and 



IN CORK AND bandon. 203 

glory ;" the one throwing the other into bolder and more 
striking relief, and mutually serving to illustrate each other ;. 
these are happy illustrations, but you must not forget the 
sentiment of a poet : — 

• 

"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
And clothes the mountain in its azure hue." 

The ruggedness of the landscape is greatly lessened by being 
only seen at a distance. Great allowance should be made, 
when the position occupied by the person who is scanning 
those fields is considered. If too near, one may be seen to 
great disadvantage ; but distance may make the only differ- 
ence with respect to the other. It is here that the principle 
of deception often works, and where I have frequently 
detected it, in my estimate respecting both myself and 
others. In reference to those clouds, much may depend 
upon the point of observation ; the bright one may have dark 
shades, and the dark a bright side, when seen from a differ- 
ent direction. Will you allow the application ? You stand 
too near your own field ; your eye is fixed upon the dark 
side of your own cloud ; you see me and the circumstances 
in which I am placed, in the far away and shadowy distance. 
The disadvantages of your situation, with all its vexations, 
are, indeed, dull and sombre certainties, while the broad out- 
lines of mine are only seen ; distance lends its graces as to 
the landscape, and fancy, ignorant of the soft illusions, fills 
it up with a thousand romantic charms. Could you only 
approach a little nearer, and acquaint yourself by actual 
experience with the ground over which vision has been expa- 
tiating, " the fairy enchantment" which deludes your 
imagination would soon disappear before stern and rugged 
reality. Do not, my dear Sir, entertain the thought for & 
moment that my path is a smooth one. Your " trials " and 



204 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

mine differ, but I have them as well as you ; nor do I expect 
it to be otherwise, till my soul is lodged in Abraham's bosom. 
The tears I have shed, and the agonies and sore conflicts I 
have passed through, in fighting with the opposing powers of 
hell, are known only to my heavenly Father. Under open 
sky, upon the cold and damp ground, or upon the floor of my 
bedroom, I have lain in exquisite anguish, with prayers and 
supplications, strong cryings and tears, — 

" And what I felt, I oft shall feel again." 

He that wages war with hell, must expect to suffer hell's 
rage ; but the opposition from infernal powers is varied 
according to our temperament and circumstances. When 
perusing an old volume the other day, I fell in with one of 
Luther's letters to his friend Melancthon. It was written in 
1522, and at a time when all hell was moved against these 
devoted men ; when the rage of the papists, and threats of 
those high in power, knew no bounds ; and when their fury 
menaced every moment, and seemed about to come down 
upon them like a tornado. Melancthon gave himself up to 
grief, sighs, and tears. At this crisis, Luther wrote him the 
following letter : — 

" In private conflicts, I am weak and you are strong ; but 
in public conflicts, you are found weak, and I am stronger, 
because I am assured that our cause is just. If we fall, 
Christ, the Lord and Ruler of the world, falleth with us ; and 
suppose he fall : Mallem mere cum Christo, quam regnare 
cum Ccesare ! ' I had rather fall with Christ, than reign 
with Caesar.' I extremely dislike your excessive cares, with 
which you say you are almost consumed. That these reign 
so much in your heart, is not so much from the greatness of 
the danger, as from the greatness of your incredulity. If 



IN CORK AND BAND0N. 205 

the cause be bad, let us give it up, and flee back ; if it be 
good, why do we make God a liar, who hath given us so 
great promises ? saying, ' Cast thy care upon the Lord ; 
be of good comfort, I have overcome the world.' A man 
would fetch such sentences as I have quoted, upon his knees, 
from Rome to Jerusalem. If Christ be the conqueror of the 
world, why should we fear it, as if it could overcome us ? 
Be courageous and cheerful, solicitous for nothing ; the Lord 
is at hand to help us." 

Can you make the application, and obey the injunction of 
the apostle : " Whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing 
that the same afflictions," either inward or outward, " are 
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." That 
was a choice saying of one now with God. " A Christian is 
never without an enemy to persecute him, inwardly or out- 
wardly ; even this is a temptation of the devil, to think that 
we are at any time free from temptation." The things you 
speak of are annoying ; you should rather wonder that you 
have not a heavier tax to pay. Patience, prudence, and 
perseverance, are the graces you are now called to exercise ; 
and I am persuaded, that an increase of the love of God in 
your heart, will materially assist you in your exercises. 

I have read somewhere, the saying of a good man, that 
calumny and detraction are like sparks ; if you do not blow 
them, they will go out of themselves. A poet has well 
said : — 

" There is a lust in man, no charm can tame, 
Of loudly publishing his neighbor's shame ; 
On eagles' wings immortal scandals fly, 
While virtuous actions are but born to die !" 

Some years ago, I was amused with the sentiment of a 
witty fellow : "A Lie will travel from Maine to Georgia, 
while Truth is putting on his boots ; in that case," he added, 

18 



206 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

" truth should not stop to put on his boots ; the difficulty liea 
in allowing the he to run so far ahead ; let them start abreast, 
and truth against the field. It may be distanced at the first 
heat, but in the long run, it is sure to secure the prize." 

The above is clever, but I am inclined to think Truth 
sometimes draws on his boots too soon, and in his haste and 
splutter, exposes himself to suspicion. I like the saying of 
another strong minded man better: " Falsehood flies as swift 
as the wind, and truth creeps behind at a snail's pace ; but 
falsehood makes so many twistings and turnings, that truth, 
keeping steadily on, and looking neither to the right nor to 
the left, overtakes it before long!" May your experience 
be that of the old proverb : Hie murus aheneus, etc. : " Let 
this be thy brazen wall of defence, to be conscious of no 
crime, and to turn pale at no accusation." Say also, with 
the philosopher, " I will live so that nobody will believe 
them." 

The other cases, however, that you mention, constitute the 
severest, — " deceptive friendship ;" and the danger is, lest 
your late trials should lead you to indulge in coldness and 
suspicion towards your real friends. 

" But here again, the danger lies, 
Lest, having misapplied our eye3, 
And taken trash for treasure, 
"We should unwarily conlude, 
Friendship, a false ideal good, 
A mere Utopian pleasure." 

Beware of this extreme ! Beware of misanthropy ! It is a 
most unhappy feeling ; the smallest degree of it sours the 
mind, and unfits it for the pleasures of social life, and pre- 
disposes us to take offence at the most trifling occurrences. 
I would rather be deceived a thousand times in my friend- 
ships, than have the sensations of a misanthrope. This ia 



m CORK AND BANDON. 207 

the only part of your severe troubles, with which I cannot 
sympathize by experience, as I do not recollect that I have 
ever yet been deceived, where I have reposed confidence in 
the bosom of friendship. For this I feel truly thankful to 
God. Allow me, however, to remind you, that there are yet 
many real friends upon your list, and I have no doubt you 
will yet find many more. As one has said, on a similar 
occasion, " One piece of gold will often repay us for turning 
up much rubbish ;" so I hope, if doomed to turn over many 
more heaps of rubbish, you will go on doing so, in full ex- 
pectation of meeting with " good men and true " to fill up 
the spaces in your broken ranks. 

Your complaint only proves, that words are cheap things, 
and "professional friendship " does not cost much. We 
may say of this, as did the Italian poet, who lived in a very 
small house, and who, on being asked, why he who had so 
eloquently described magnificent palaces, should himself five 
in a house so small and shabby. He replied, " Words are 
put together cheaper than stones." Although your case is 
somewhat dissimilar, it reminds me of the severity of a Latin 
poet against one Candidus, the fruit of whose friendship, it 
would appear, only grew upon his tongue. The translation 
of one of his verses runs thus : " Thou say est, my friend 
Candidus, that all things are common among friends ; but it 
seems these words of thine are the all things; for, of all 
thy wealth and goods, thou makest no friend thou hast a doit 
the better ; thou givest nothing at all, and yet art most 
prodigal of thy language, and wearest out that proverb 
threadbare, Jiavra xoiva <pdwv, " All things are co imon 
among friends." 

St. John touches this forcibly : " My little children, ^et 
us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed, an^ m 
truth." 



208 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

Permit me, my dear friend, to direct your sorrowful mind 
to those passages of Scripture, with which you are familiar : 
" God is a sun and a shield ;" " God is light, and in him is 
no darkness at all;" and again, "With him there is no 
variableness, neither shadow of turning." I do not bring 
these beautiful declarations before you, merely to put you in 
remembrance of God's unchangeable friendship to those who 
love and obey ; but to urge the necessity of living in close 
and intimate union with Him, who "is light," so that neither 
devils nor men may cast your soul into the shade. 

Once I received a very important lesson, from a very 
simple incident, which I trust will be a blessing to me so 
long as I live. One evening, several years ago, I wen4 
aboard a steamer, at the city of Albany, and sailed for New 
York. After admiring the beautiful scenery of the Hudson* 
till night obscured every object on the shores from my view* 
I retired to the gentlemen's cabin and sat down to read* 
taking a seat some distance from the lamp. It was not long 
before dark shadows, to my great annoyance, flitted again 
and again over my book, in consequence of careless servants 
and unthinking passengers passing and repassing between me 
and the light. I bore it for some time with great patience 
closing my eyes till the shadows flitted over the page, phi- 
losophizing on the benefit of tranquility in all the changing 
scenes of life. Each person being intent upon his own 
business and pleasure, the studious stranger never entered 
their thoughts. At last the inconvenience became too great 
for even philosophy to bear patiently, and it suggested a 
remedy. Observing that the thoroughfare lay between me 
and the lamp, I concluded to occupy it, and draw so close 
to the source of light, as to prevent any one from coming 
between me and it. I did so, and here my troubles ended ; 
the stir was as great as ever, but the voyagers found a pas- 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 209 

sage behind me, and " left me alone in my glory.' ' I was 
only a few moments in this advantageous position, before I 
was disturbed by another class of agents, not less stirring 
than those I had contrived to avoid, and which equally pro- 
hibited me from reading. A poet has described them thus : — 

" Lulled in the countless chambers of the brain, 
Our thoughts are linked by many a hidden chain, 
Awake but one, and lo ! what myriads rise, 
Each stamps its image as the other flies." 

I recollected how often since God converted my soul, my 
peace had been broken or destroyed, by a great variety of 
agents, many of them as unthinking and undesigning as 
these passengers ; and why ? In nine instances out of ten, 
my soul stood at such a distance from God, as to leave a 
thoroughfare between me and him, which was perpetually 
occupied by these intruders ; my soul being thus excluded 
from the beams of the great Source of light, happiness, and 
comfort, I have been dark, cold, and unhappy. 

"Ah!" I thought, "now I know the cause of all my 
troubles ; and the method of redress for all my grievances 
is revealed. From henceforth, by the grace of God, I shall 
endeavor to live so near the Lord, that no creature under 
heaven shall be able to come between us. Then I shall 
walk in cheerful light under the sunshine of his countenance, 
and shall read, uninterruptedly, * my title clear ' to his favor, 
and to his heaven. Then I shall cheerfully bear whatever 
may come, - — losses, and crosses, sickness or health, pros- 
perity or adversity. Friends in such case may divert or 
prove true, may be spared to my embraces, or wither and 
die ; and though tenderly alive to the whole, yet the presence 
or absence of these, which one has somewhere compared to 
6 candle light in the presence of sunbeams,' can make no 
material difference to the soul upon which the Sun of Right 
18* 



210 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

eousness hath arisen, with healing in his wings Mai. iv. 2. 
My experience will be continually — 

' The eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, 
Each prayer accepted, and each wish resigned.' " 

With respect to the other points in your letter, I really 
find it difficult, at so great a distance, to determine. All 
ships without cargo need ballast, some more, some less ; and 
it matters not to the captain what it is, so that it be not too 
bulky, and the vessel is kept steady. The coarsest, and 
most worthless material, is generally thrown in for ballast ; 
but a cargo, if there be a sufficiency of it, renders this pre- 
caution unnecessary. Most Christians need a little ballast, 
— troubles and afflictions of various kinds, to keep them 
steady, otherwise they would capsize, or be hard to manage ; 
some require more, others less ; but the more love and faith, 
the more holiness we have, the less ballast we shall need to 
keep us steady in our passage to heaven, which is frequently 
boisterous : — 

" Through tribulations deep, 
The way to glory lies, 
That stormy course I keep, 
'Neath these tempestuous skies, 
By winds and waves 
I am tossed and driven, 
Freighted with grace, 
And bound for heaven !" 

I have often thought the religious, experience, or, if you 
please, " temperament " of some people, is not unlike a clock ; 
one or two dead weights are necessary to keep the machinery 
going with regularity. A quaint old poet I was reading the 
other day, when describing the state of his soul in prayer, 
under the figure of a rusty clock, makes known his requests, 
but never mentions the weights at all. But hear him : — 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 211 

M My soul is a clock, whose wheels (for want of us© 
And winding up, being subject to the abuse 
Of eating rust) wants vigor to fulfil 
Her twelve hours task, and show her Maker's skill 
But idlely sleeps unmoved, and standeth still. 

****** 

Great God, it is thy work, and therefore good ; 

If thou be pleased to cleanse it with thy blood, 

And wind it up with thy soul-moving keys, 

Her busy wheels shall serve thee all her days ; 

Her hand shall point thy power, her hammer strike thy praise." 

But, to change the figure, I can very well conceive how a 
threadbare coat may have a happy heart beneath it ; or how 
a man may have a burden upon his back, and sunshine in 
his soul. Remember my lesson on board the steamer. The 
great point to be settled, is, " Can I see God in this ? Is 
this providential? Can it be avoided or removed? The 
question is not, what ought I to have done ? but, what is my 
duty now ? If I can do nothing but suffer, let me do this. 
If God alone can help me, then I must be still." Are these 
your feelings ? Then let me call to your aid the sentiments 
of a suffering servant of the living God : " He will do the 
work, and his hand will be seen in the doing of it. "We are 
obliged to watt for the tide. When that flows, and the wind 
sets in fair, let us hoist sail. When the tide has left a ship 
on the beach, an army may attempt to move it in vain ; but 
when she is afloat in the water, a small force moves her. 
We must wait the openings of Providence." In the mean- 
time, you may realize the truth of the Chinese maxim: 
" Whatever tempests may arise, tranquility is a port always 
open to the innocent heart." The following is better : " Cast 
thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee ; he will 
never suffer the righteous to be moved." 

Perhaps another lesson, which I received several years ago, 
may be useful to you in the present juncture of your affairs. 



212 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

My mind had been sorely exercised for some time, respect- 
ing temporal affairs, out of which I could see no way of 
deliverance, feeling unwilling at the same time to rest the 
matter in uncertainty. That scriptural direction was forgot- 
ten : "He that believeth, shall not make haste." One day, 
as I was standing in an hotel, in the city of Troy, waiting 
the arrival of the coach, I took up a common newspaper, 
when my eye rested upon the following paragraph, denomi- 
nated, "The just principles of wisdom," which seemed to 
have been written expressly for me : " Distresses that are 
removable, remove ; those that cannot be removed, bear with 
as little disquietude as possible. • In every situation in life 
there are some comforts ; find them out and enjoy them." 

May you not also, my dear Sir, receive some benefit from 
the above ? Endeavor to do so, and God will help you. 
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and wait patiently for 
him, and he shall bring it to pass. And while you are doing 
so, you may adopt the language of a very old poet : — 

" Fear not the rocks, or world's imperious waves, 
Thou climb'st a Eock, my soul, a Rock that saves !" 

We have had, hitherto, a very hard conflict m Bandon ; 
the hardest in which I have ever been engaged. Last Sab- 
bath, however, was a glorious day to many. We had a select 
meeting for the young converts in the afternoon, and forty- 
four persons came forward and testified, that, during the last 
four weeks, God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven their sins. 
It was indeed a powerful and melting time. I have wit- 
nessed nothing like it since the commencement of the special 
services. Many of the old members were bathed in tears, 
and toward the close of the service, a large number of awak- 
ened sinners approached the communion rail, and knelt to be 
prayed for. Their cries for mercy were piercing. This 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 218 

nappy hour amply repaid \ne for all my tears, and groans, 
and labors, during these last nine weeks. The Lord saw 
that I needed such a manifestation of his power, for my soul 
was greatly discouraged. 

The remainder of this chapter is from a letter dated Corh^ 
Oct. 28, 1842, and is addressed to his sister in America. 
It briefly reviews his Bandon labors, and describes his final 
labors in Cork while detained there a few days prior to his 
departure for England : — 

This morning I had my baggage taken aboard a steamer, 
but just as we were about to sail for Liverpool, an accident 
occurred to the machinery, and the passengers were requested 
to disembark. 

Before leaving the vessel, a person informed me, who had 
the means of knowing, that the boilers were in a most 
wretched and dangerous condition, and that this was the 
last trip previous to a refit in England. 

Had the accident taken place when out at sea, even if an 
explosion had been avoided, a crippled machinery might have 
let us drift upon a lee shore, attended with the most fatal 
consequences to all on board. With a thankful heart, I put 
my signature to that beautiful verse : — 

" Keeps with most distinguished care, 
The man who on thy love depends ; 
Watches every numbered hair, 
And all his steps attends." 

A party of the Cork friends had accompanied me to the 
boat, having previously exercised all their powers of per- 
suasion to induce me to spend the Sabbath with them ; but 
being fully conscious, that my work, for the present, was 
finished in Ireland, I could not consent ; but when they saw 
me and my baggage put ashore, they accosted me with a 



214 EXPERIENCES ANE INCIDENTS 

glowing satisfaction of countenance : " Oh ! indeed, then, 
God will not let you leave us ! It is plain, your work is ncV 
done in Cork, and he has sent you back to complete it." 

My mind is involved in great anxiety, as to the path of 
duty. A steamer sails to-morrow for Liverpool, and another 
about the middle of next week for Bristol, but there is no 
impression upon my mind that I ought to visit B.; Liver- 
pool is constantly before me, although I have no official 
invitation from thence ; to-morrow also, is Saturday, and 
should I sail, that would leave me at sea on the Sabbath ; 
and if I put off another week, it is more than probable I 
must sail on Saturday also. Well ! I have committed the 
matter to God, and will now spend a few minutes in giving 
you a sketch of my proceedings since the date of my last 
letter to * * *, which no doubt you have seen. 

The revival advanced with a slowness that distressed me 
during the remainder of my stay in Bandon. I felt as if 
there were something wrong and deeply grievous to the 
Holy Spirit somewhere ; perhaps the day of judgment shall 
alone reveal it. On Sabbath, the 16th inst., twenty addi- 
tional persons came forward as witnesses to the blessing of 
justification through faith in the merits of Christ. 

I have just been examining my notes of a few excursions 
made while in Bandon, but they are so lean, it is doubtful 
whether they will be interesting to you. A few weeks since, 
in company with a small party of our friends, I rode over to 
Kinsale, to see my kind friends, the Rev. Robinson Scott 
and wife, whom we found well and happy in God. 

On the 17th inst., we set off in a different direction, to a 
place called Court Mac Sherry ; on our way, we paid a visit 
to the ruins of the old abbey of Timaleague. It is ap- 
proached from Bandon, along the banks of a busy life 
serpentine river, named " the Arigideen ;" taat is, the littk 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 215 

silver stream, which, before it reaches the abbey, glides near 
the base of an ancient castle, built by an Irish sept, called 
O'Shagnassy, and soon after washes the walls of Timaleague. 

The abbey is built upon an arm of the sea, about three 
miles from the ocean. The foundations have been laved by 
the tides during four centuries, and yet the venerable pile 
has sustained but trifling injury from that cause. The con- 
vent church is large, and, like the rest of the buildings, 
roofless. The choir has been a noble wing with side aisles, 
formed by arcades. A venerable gothic tower stands in the 
centre, seventy feet high, but so damaged by time and 
storms, we could not ascend to the top. The convent is 
filled with graves and tombstones, and upon one side of the 
main entrance we observed an immense heap of human 
bones, laid together like one of your American wood piles, 
exposed to the weather. The Koman Catholics in this 
country seem to have a strange taste for such humiliating 
spectacles. 

A peasant told us very gravely on leaving the ruins, that 
" when the abbey was in its glory, large ships came up close 
to its walls ; and, upon a certain time, the sailors mocked the 
monks, and one of them prayed that God would put a stop 
to their coming up entirely ; and so it was, for the channel 
was immediately filled with sand, and never a ship came up 
here any more at all." 

As we proceeded down the shores of the bay, we came to 
Abbey Mahon, a ruin nearly enveloped in ivy. I left the 
carriage and spent a few minutes in walking through its 
desolate chambers. Court Mac Sherry is a neat village, 
built upon a natural terrace, with a pleasant prospect of the 
bay and opposite shores. We entered the fields at the oppo- 
site side of the village, and after traversing some distance a 
pleasing and romantic path, overshadowed with trees, sud- 



216 EXPERIENCES AND INCIDENTS 

denly the " Old Head of Kinsale " and the Atlantic burst 
upon our view. 

I preached my farewell sermon at Bandon, to a large con- 
gregation, on the night of the 16th inst., and next evening, 
spent a few hours most agreeably with a number of the 
friends, in the house of Mr. Edwards. 

Saturday, 22d, (Oct. 1842,) I left Bandon for Cork, 
and had for a fellow passenger the Dean of Cork, a very 
sensible and pious man, quite the gentleman and the Chris- 
tian ; we had a most profitable conversation on the things of 
God. He had heard of my movements in Ireland, and when 
we parted, he heartily wished me success in my Master's 
work. And now once more in Cork, and retracing the 
scenes of the last few months, sore as my conflicts were in 
Bandon, I do not regret my visit. A new circle of acquaint- 
ances has been formed, which shall, doubtless, heighten my 
joys in heaven. God has a precious people in Bandon with 
whom I felt great union of spirit, and who showed me much 
kindness. In the families of Messrs. Edwards, Scott, and 
Belcher, I was most hospitably entertained during my stay. 
Rev. George Yance, whom I mentioned in one of my Dublin 
letters, is now stationed in that circuit. He is the same 
devoted soul, and treated me with his accustomed kindness. 

Sabbath, the 23d, I spent in Cork, preached twice, and 
also the following Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fri- 
day evenings, and sinners were converted to God in every 
service. 

I am now entertained in the mansion of Edward Robinson, 
Esq., where I spent a few weeks last July, previous to my 
leaving for Bandon. With him and his excellent wife and 
family, I have formed an acquaintance that shall last for 
ever. My health, I have reason to praise God, is very 
good ; and the light of his countenance is cheering to my 



IN CORK AND BANDON. 217 

soul. How dreary would be my path but for this ! What- 
ever happiness I enjoy, it is in God. He is mine, and I am 
His. What is before me in England, I know not ; but it is 
sweetly and powerfully impressed, " He can open and no 
man can shut, and he can shut and no man can open ;" and 
with this, which I believe to be from the Holy Spirit, I rest 
secure and satisfied. 



19 



CHAPTER XIV 

MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

In this chapter we shall see our friend walking once more 
in the way of naked faith. His communings with the Holy 
Spirit have led him to believe that his work lies next in 
England. Though fully successful in Ireland : though sur- 
rounded by friends whose affections he has won by his won- 
derful labors ; yet, in obedience to his convictions of duty, 
he tears himself away from these friends, and throws himself 
once more into the midst of strangers, confident that God 
will give him abundant access to the people. The facts re- 
corded will show that he did not trust God in vain. 

The Poem contained in this chapter is inserted here both 
because we find it in his letters, and because it gives a fair 
specimen of Mr. Caughey's powers as a writer of verse. It 
is appropriate as a feature in his mental picture. 

On the 29th of October, (1842,) in company with Edward 
Robinson, Esq., and Thomas Fannin, Esq., of Liverpool, and 
his daughter, I sailed from Cork for this port, (Liverpool.) 

The captain very politely allowed a large party of the 
friends to come aboard, and accompany me down the river. 
My heart was greatly affected with their kindness, and after 
an exchange of farewells, they landed at Passage. As our 
fine steamer, the Prince of Wales, darted across the harbor 
218 



MR. CAUGHBY IN ENGLAND. 219 

of the Cove, we had another opportunity of admiring the 
beautiful scenery; but there was a singular mournfulness 
over my spirit, that seemed to tinge every object with its 
hues. A few minutes more, and we were dashing through 
the outlet, the fortifications of which were frowning down 
upon us from either hand. The uneasy motions of our ves- 
sel told us that, however calm and lovely the day, it pos- 
sessed no charms to hush into quietness the untamed and 
restless sea. 

During the afternoon, we ran along the wild and rocky 
coast of Ireland, and as we were close in shore, we were 
most agreeably entertained with a great variety of objects. 
There was little indeed of the soft and beautiful to be seen, 
nor were the rocks sufficiently stupendous, to impress the 
mind with images of grandeur ; but the amazing masses of 
gray and gradually ascending rocks, broken into rents and 
chasms, by the action of the waves ; the bleak and shrubless 
highlands shelving back, and laid bare in their various points 
of elevation, or disfigured by the beetling operations of the 
storms of many centuries ; these, with the bolder promon- 
tory, shooting far into the deep, and the little bays, with their 
rugged beach and crested waves, seeming to say, " Land if 
you dare," were highly calculated to excite emotions of plea- 
sure, mingled with absorbing curiosity, in the bosom of those 
who were fond of sea-coast scenery. Seldom have I seen a 
bleaker coast, though here and there, we espied an oasis, just 
sufficient to suggest the idea of " beauty resting in the lap 
of horror." Deck-walking is a very ■ sociable exercise in 
pleasant weather ; but I fear my taciturnity disappointed my 
excellent friends. Though alive to any imagery belonging 
to sea or land, which might hereafter assist me in the illustra- 
tion of truth, my mind was constantly embarrassed with 
one general and uncongenial idea, anticipated sea sickness. 



220 MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

I have read somewhere of a Roman general, whose army 
had been overthrown by a powerful foe, and although he 
himself escaped from the hazards and desperations of the 
battle-field, was ever after in a constant state of terror and 
alarm, as if he heard the clangor of trumpets and the noise 
of a pursuing foe ; and, like many an awakened sinner of 
the nineteenth century, he had no cessation of his disqui- 
etudes, unless when under the influence of wine or sleep. 

Leaving wine and sleep out of the question, it was thus 
with your friend. The waves are his enemies, and he has 
often been in the pell-mell of their congregated regiments, 
and, with the exception of a few slight skirmishes on some 
of the North American lakes, he has always been defeated ; 
in spite of all the hosts of philosophical and energetical 
thoughts he could muster for the conflict, he has ever been 
compelled to surrender or retreat in disgrace. His mind is 
therefore always in a state of consternation, when within the 
territories of his determined foes. 

Only read the following lines, which I scribbled a few years 
ago, when my feet were once more placed firmly on terra 
firma, and I could sing defiance to my raging enemies : — 

It was sunrise, 
And the tenth morning's dawn had brightened 
The dark vapors, which crept along the 
Far extended swell on Ocean's bosom. 
Along the sky, from south to west, the clouds 
Portentously were spread in massive tiers ; 
The winds lay hushed amid their many folds, 
And, like a mighty host entrenched, armed, 
Ready for the battle. — — 

The sun arose, as if from out the deep, 
Encompassed by a mob of waves — angry wave*, 
Whose altitude and violence, a man of wit 
Declared treason and outright rebellion 
Against the King of Day ; while he, in giant power, 
Ascended still, and down on crested foes, 



MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 221 

And noisy tumult, scowled defiance. 

The half-fonned bow of Omnipotence glowed 

On the floating fountains of the lowering heavens. 

Thunders uttered their threat' ning murmurs, 

Artillery-like, their distant roar, without 

The flashing of their forked fires. Rushing winds 

Arranged the clouds as armies, front to front, 

Li dread array, charging, then retiring, 

Or Joining still in mighty phalanx. 

The sea itself was troubled, 
And mirrored in its long continuous heave, 
The dismal drapery of the scowling sky ; 
Our gallant ship looked awfully timid, her 
Snow-white wings suspiciously contracted 
Within the circle of her trembling womb. 
Deep thought was seated on the helmsman's face, 
As ever and anon he eyed the angel 
Fingers of the inspired guide of him 
Who ploughs the surface of the briny deep, 
And to the windward heavens turned a 
Pitiful, foreboding look, and thought of home. 

It was a solemn hour, 
And solemn seemed the jovial sons of Neptune, 
Each at his post in mute attention, 
Prompt to obey each stern command ; though 
On the bending top-mast, or swinging on 
The yard's arm — reeling to and fro amidst 
The gath'ring storm, — or on the wave-washed deck, 
Ready ever, — always willing, — though in 
Performance of his arduous duty ; 
The headlong plunge is made resistless — 
Deep into the yawning gulfs beneath. 

Awful was the moment, 
When the Father of the skies his grasp unloosed 
Of the mighty winds, and let them use their power: 
Heaven's sounding squadrons through the concaved 
Dome, pealed their dreadful notes ; and down 
On rifted deep and reeling vessel came 
With one tremendous roar ; and in tumultuous 
Confusion tossed the troubled atmosphere, 
And hurried forth the wheeling clouds, to seize 
Upon the tops of congregated billows, — 
Upward whirling them 'mid vapors, foam and storm. 

19* 



222 MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

The liquid mountains and the cleaving valleys 
Seemed, in their fury, willing to let us touch the 
Coral rocks, or pick the gems from ocean's bottom; 
But rapid as the rushing terrors of the storm, 
Drove our straining vessel up the steeps again, 
In wild amaze to mingle with the skies ; 
A moment there — of peril and dismay, 
And suddenly, away from off that foaming peak, 
She came, like avalanche from Alpine mountain brow. 
In one terrific sweep into the black abyss. 

A fearful crisis this ! 
The war of winds and waves is ever awful, 
But dreadful was this elemental climax — 
The shrill cry of distress mingled horribly 
With the loud bellowings of the maddened deep. 
The creakings of the frictioned timbers kept 
Awful time to tattered sails, cracking like whips 
Around the naked masts. 

It was an hour of terror. 
Infidelity turned pale, and vice became unmasked, 
And every man was honest with himself and God. 
Too late, how many found opinions valueless. 
Such vain conceits and lying vanities 
Might do on land — on sea, when all was calm, 
And death far off; — but now in dread extremity, 
To still the conscience, or to soothe the mind, 
Utterly incapable. In time of greatest need, 
Defective most : 'midst aggravated roar of 
Conflicting winds and all-involving billows, 
The wretched soul was left a helpless prey, 
Close upon life's verge, naked, cold, and trembling; 
Poised upon eternity's dread brink ; refuge none, 
By first and second death at once invaded : 
Till willing, by the promptings of a black despair 
To take into eternal night, the awful leap, 
Shrieking in horror, forsaken and alone ! 

And it was a time, 
When Christianity shone with splendor. 
While I could read the troubled souls, even in 
The very countenances of the sons of Mammon ; 
And hear the sinner pray, who never prayed before 
I heard the Christian claim, with confidence, 
Help from Him who rode upon the stormy sky, 



MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 123 

The raging of the mighty seas, whose power could tft>m, 
Or elevate the soul above the tempest's wail, 
To hope in God, and clap her wings of joy. 
And I could see Religion, daughter of the skies, 
Bending o'er the mountain surges, holding 
Sweet converse with breast's monitor, conscience, 
Whispering a peace, which stood unshaken amidst 
The strife of elements and peals of death ! 

At a certain point toward evening, we gradually retired 
from the land, and as we were losing sight of old Ireland, a 
little bird came off on full wing, reached us, and fluttered 
around the rigging, as if desirous to rest its weary pinions ; 
but seeing such a formidable assemblage on the deck, it 
poised wing, and was borne along on the increasing breeze out 
to sea. For a time it appeared a black spot, and as it be- 
came scarcely discernible, and we were sympathizing with its 
dreary prospects should it continue in that direction, it began 
to increase in bulk, and after a serious struggle with the gale, 
arrived within the rigging again, and dropped down into a 
recess in the lee side of the windward bulwarks, a few feet 
from the deck, and concealed itself behind some ropes. After 
a while, it arranged its plumage, and prepared itself in the 
most contented manner for a quiet night's rest ; but a cabin 
boy came and seized the little stranger ; we immediately took 
its part, and insisted he should put it back again into the 
berth of its choice ; but on his promising to set it at liberty 
when near the coast of Wales, we permitted him to bear it off. 

I remarked to a friend that this incident brought forcibly 
to my mind the conduct of an awakened sinner ; that I had 
seen many an unhappy penitent borne away from the devil's 
territories by the powerful gales of the Spirit, John iii. 8 
and when about to find rest to his soul, doubt and despair have 
come upon him, and he has fled away from the sight and 
sound of salvation ; and when the saints of God have been 
mourning on account of the dreadful destiny that awaited 



224 MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

him, if he continued to fly away from the gospel hope, they 
iave seen him returning, faint, weary, and heavy laden, 
glad to come aboard of " Zion's ship," saying with the poet: 

"(Loosed from God, and far removed, 

Long have I wandered to and fro ; 
O'er earth in endless circles roved, 

Nor found whereon to rest below ; 
Back to my God at last I fly, 
For 0, the waters still are high '. 

*' Selfish pursuits, and nature's maze, 

The things of earth, for thee I leave : 
Put forth thy hand, thy hand of grace ; 

Into the ark of love receive ! 
Take this poor fluttering soul to rest, 
And lodge it. Saviour, in thy breast ! " 

Next day, Oct. 30th, (1842,) we landed at Liverpool ; 
and that evening attended divine service in the Wesleyan 
chapel, (Brunswick,) and heard a most powerful sermon 
from the Rev. Dr. Beaumont. My friend, Mr. Fannin, whom 
I mentioned in the beginning of this letter, introduced me 
to the Doctor before sermon. He gave me a very cordial 
welcome to England, and invited me to preach for him ; this 
I refused, but afterwards assisted him in the prayer meeting. 

On Monday, Mr. Fannin insisted I should leave my hotel, 
and make his house in Brougham terrace my home ; which I 
accepted, and am now comfortably situated in a pleasant 
part of the town, and with a very agreeable and interesting 
family. 

With regard to my prospects of doing good in this town, 
they are very dark at present. Having had no official invita- 
tion to visit Liverpool, nor any acquaintance with the Wes- 
leyan Ministers stationed here, excepting the Rev. A. E. 
Farrar, superintendent of the north circuit, to whom I had an 
introduction, when on his missionary deputation in Ireland, a 
few months since, renders the case rather perplexing. My 



MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 225 

mind is strongly impressed to remain ; — that God has a work 
for me to do here ; but, I fear, if the door does not soon 
open, the devil will take the advantage, and attack me as in 
Dublin. I have had an interview with the Rev. A. E. Far- 
rar, who expresses an ardent desire for a revival, but we 
have not, as yet, been able to fix upon any plan of special 
effort for the salvation of sinners. My health, thank God, is 
excellent. My mind seems to be under a singular prohibi- 
tion, respecting leaving this town ; so that I am unable to 
give you the least information as to my future movements. 
This uncertainty is painful ; but the Lord knows what kind 01 
discipline is best for his weak servant. I need your prayers. 

The foregoing part of this chapter is from a letter to an 
American friend ; what now follows is from a letter to his 
sister, and describes his mental struggles very touchingly, 
before his way was fully opened in England. These strug- 
gles, however, led him to a continued walk of faith. God 
was true to his promise, and again furnished him with open- 
ings and opportunities. Faith was victorious over sight. 
But we must allow him to tell his own story : — 

I landed in this port from Cork on the 30th of October, 
and once more walked the streets of Liverpool, a solitary 
stranger, but in a much happier state of mind than when last 
here. Soon after my arrival, the Lord provided me a home 
in an excellent family, where I have since remained. Many 
sore exercises of mind have been my lot, since my second 
visit to England. It would appear as if the devil were deter- 
mined to contest this ground with me in a fiercer manner 
than in Dublin. I have groaned, and prayed, and wept 
much. You know the hastiness of my disposition, how apt 
to decide quickly, and act promptly. This peculiarity of my 
temperament would have driven me out of Liverpool, had it 



226 MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

net been for a deep conviction that God has a work for me 
to do here. Even up till now, I would gladly retreat, but 
dare not. 

On Sabbath night, November 6th, I crossed the river 
Mersey, to the Cheshire side, walked to the Wesleyan 
chapel, Woodside, and opened my commission in England, 
with that text, 2 Peter ii. 9. The above passage has often 
been a comfort to me in days of temptation, years gone by, 
and I chose it on this occasion on my own behalf, and was 
much comforted. An influence from God evidently rested 
upon the people, and could the blow have been repeated, 
many sinners, I doubt not, would have been saved. 

Monday night, preached in Great Homer street chapel, 
Liverpool. The Rev. Mr. Farrar was present, and many of 
the leaders and local preachers, and a good congregation ; 
text, 1 Cor. x. 15. In this sermon, I endeavored to lay 
down a few great principles, and the Lord applied the whole 
by his Spirit ; afterwards we had a powerful prayer meeting, 
but none converted. 

Mr. Farrar and his official board were unanimously of 
opinion, that a special effort should now be made for a 
revival, and that the meetings should be continued in this 
chapel. 

During the first week we had small congregations ; my 
soul was much assisted from on high ; glad of an opportunity 
of using those weapons which are not carnal, " but mighty 
through God to the pulling down of strong holds." The 
week ended, and we had only one sinner converted. Sab- 
bath, 13th, I preached in the afternoon to the sailors, aboard 
of the Bethel ship, having been invited to do so by Captain 
Hudson, chaplain for the port. We had a very gracious 
season. The services, during the ensuing week, were inter- 
fered with by tea meetings for important purposes ; and no 



MR. CAUGIIEY IN ENGLAND. 227 

sinners, I believe, were converted. The following Sabbath 
evening, the Lord opened my way to Great Homer street 
chapel pulpit, and there was a shaking among the dry bones ; 
text, 1 Kings xviii. 21 ; and from that night the work cf 
God has advanced with majesty and power. 

Last Sabbath afternoon, I met those who had found mercy 
since the 7th of November. The meeting for the young 
converts was conducted in a similar manner to that I 
described in Cork. One hundred and thirteen persons came 
forward, and in the most distinct manner, and with many 
tears, declared, that God for Christ's sake had pardoned 
their sins. Many who had found salvation, but who did not 
understand the nature of the meeting, were not present ; but 
thirty additional persons gave their names in the evening, as 
trophies of redeeming love. All glory be to God ! 

It would be impossible, my dear sister, to tell you how 
severely, and on how many points, the adversary has harass- 
ed me, during these few weeks I have been in England, but 
all his attempts to discourage me have driven me nearer to 
God. Part of each forenoon was spent upon my knees, 
crying to God for Liverpool, and a fuller baptism of the 
Holy Ghost upon my own soul. 

The Lord, during these seasons of conflict, gave several 
helps to my faith. Perhaps the following may be interesting 
to you. One day a stranger came into my room, and said, 
" Sir, a few weeks before you arrived in this town, I had a 
singular dream. I thought I was passing up a certain street, 
when I saw two immense flames arising from each side ; one 
was of a bluish color, and filled me with horror ; the appear- 
ance of the other flame was quite different. These flames 
met in terrible contention, and filled the street, so that to 
pass seemed impossible. It was suggested to my mind by 
some one near, i You must not attempt to pass, or you will 



228 MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

be burned.' I replied, that pass I would, and pass I did, 
while the flames played around my shoulders ; but when I 
got through there was not a singe, nor smell of fire upon my 
garments, and I distinctly heard a voice, saying, ' Glory be 
to God !' And, Sir, the first night you preached in Great 
Homer street chapel, I heard you, and the moment your 
voice reached my ear, I recognized it as the voice I heard 
in my dream, saying, ' Glory be to God !' and now, Sir, 
thank God, through your instrumentality, I have obtained a 
clear sense of the remission of my sins, with the pardoning 
love of God." 

The great Dr. Johnson used to say, " Do not wholly be- 
lieve dreams, for they may be false ; but do not entirely 
reject them, because they may be true." 

The remainder of this chapter is from a letter to a friend, 
and describes his movements in Liverpool up to January 3, 
1843. 

The Lord has opened a great and eiFectual door for me in 
Liverpool. The enemy opposed me most seriously, and ea- 
deavored in various ways to shut the door of usefulness, and 
insinuated that he would completely block up my way in 
England ; but the promise I received in Ireland stood fast, 
and was the " sheet anchor " of my soul. Isaiah xxii. 22, 
and Rev. iii. 7, 8. On the 13th of last December, Isaiah 
liv. 17, was given to me, " No weapon that is formed against 
thee shall prosper," and has rested sweetly upon my mind 
since. In the time of extremity, God came down in power 
and arrested scores of sinners, and surrounded us with the 
tears and cries of imploring penitents'. This was such a 
demonstration of the presence and approbation of God that 
few could withstand, except those who were entrenched at 
home, and amused themselves with the strange and garbled 



MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 229 

reports which were put in circulation. The Rev. A. E. 
Farrar, the Superintendent, pronounced it at once a special 
work of God, and among friends and foes stood up for the 
revival most nobly, as did also his excellent colleagues, the 
Rev. Dr. Beaumont, and the Rev. John H. James. 

After spending about five weeks upon what is called here 
the " North Circuit," and many sinners were converted to 
God, a deputation of Leaders from the " South Circuit " 
waited upon me, with a request to spend a few weeks with 
them ; saying, " Come, Sir, and let the revival flame bo 
kindled at different points, and God may set the town in a 
blaze." As Mr. Farrar had advised me, by all means, to 
visit the South Circuit, should an invitation come from the 
proper authority, I agreed, provided the Superintendent 
was willing. We therefore walked down to see the Rev. 
William Atherton, who received us politely, and though evi- 
dently not at all enthusiastic upon the subject, yielded to the 
request of the Leaders, and your friend received an official 
permission to preach the gospel of the kingdom on that side 
of the town. His colleagues, the Rev. Joseph Hargreaves, 
and the Rev. Henry H. Chettle, were not present during the 
interview, but I had the pleasure of an introduction to them 
afterwards. 

That very night, in Pitt street chapel, a few hot shot from 
the walls of Zion were thrown into the entrenchments of the 
devil's children, and four of them cried out for mercy — 

" Wounded by the Spirit's sword, 
And then by Gilead's balm restored " — 

One of them an old woman of seventy-two. Shortly after 
we began in the above chapel, I was taken with a severe 
hoarseness, in consequence of having to walk some distance 
after preaching, and being a little careless withal. It con 
20 



230 MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 

fined me two nights to my room, but in answer to the prayer 
of faith, and the use of means, (inhaling the vapor, caused 
by a red hot poker in a mug of tar, and, at certain intervals, 
sipping a little flax-seed tea, made to the consistence of 
honey,) I regained my voice, and we continued the battle 
with vigor. During the first week, we had twenty con- 
verted ; the next week seventy ; and the week after, more 
than forty. 

On the night of the 31st of December, I assisted one of 
the preachers in holding a watch night in Pitt street chapel. 
Altogether, it was one of the most singular of the kind I had 
ever attended. Several exhortations were given, but the 
" direct aim " was wanting, and I fear your friend was quite 
as deficient as his brethren. We seemed afraid of each 
other, and did nothing. When the new year was ushered 
in, and part of the immense crowd had retired, God enabled 
me to break through the infernal oppression which rested 
upon us, and in a few minutes, we had the altar filled with 
weeping penitents, and several obtained salvation. I retired 
to rest, about three o'clock in the morning, much cast down 
by reflecting upon the comparative failure upon such an 
important night. 

On the following day, I assisted one of the preachers in 
the administration of the Lord's Supper, at Wesley chapel, 
Stanhope street, and enjoyed a very solemn season in " the 
renewal of the covenant." The latter is a most impressive 
service, and why it has not been incorporated into the usages 
of American Methodism, I cannot tell ; of the gracious 
effects, there can be no question. I shall bring with me on 
my return a copy of the Covenant. 

New Year's Day night, I preached in the Mount Pleasant 
chapel to a crowded congregation. Twelve sinners were 
converted to God. 



MR. CAUGHEY IN ENGLAND. 231 

Up to this time, not less than two hundred and seventy 
sinners have been converted ; but only one hundred and 
thirty of these are from the world ; the remainder were mem- 
bers of the Wesleyan church. I am amazed at this ; but so 
it was in the cities I visited in Ireland. Certainly this was 
a large number to be meeting in class without conversion. I 
have had some tribulation to endure, since my arrival here* 
Much from my great adversary, and some from poor human 
nature, warped by various prejudices. My position is a sin- 
gular one, though I trust in the order of God, else I would 
very soon return to America ; but it is not understood in 
Liverpool; nor would it be becoming, I fear, to appear 
anxious to set matters in a clearer light, unless it were 
requested. The voice of the Lord in my conscience seems 
to be, " Mind the one work, for the accomplishment of which 
you have been sent ; you have nothing to do either with the 
opening or shutting of the door, so long as you are faithful 
in saving souls.' ' The opinions about me are various, and 
some things to me are inexplicable ; and if any thing, in 
some sort, throws a ray of light upon them, it is, that I am 
sure there is nothing personal designed ; only what is con- 
sidered by some " good policy." This reflection relieves my 
mind, and enables me to exercise that charity which " bear- 
eth all things, believeth all things " — the best of every man, 
so as to put a good construction even upon the greatest para- 
doxes — " hopeth all things, endureth all things." I know 
my eye is single. The salvation of lost sinners is my steady, 
constant aim ; but as all cannot see my heart, it would be 
wrong in me to fret with those who cannot appreciate my 
motives, nor, for the present, sympathize with my move- 
ments. My soul is greatly humbled before the Lord ; but I 
am his, and he is mine. This is settled, therefore I will 
rejoice, and be glad in the Rock of my salvation. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

The succeeding chapter presents a new phase in the 
character of our Revivalist. He is in the arena of contro- 
versy, contending nobly with the adversaries whom Satan 
raised up in Liverpool to buffet him. It would appear that 
these enemies assaulted him with a variety of objections to 
his manner, his mode of procedure, his style of preaching, 
and even to the astonishing results of his labors. To these 
missives he replied in a masterly manner, as the reader 
will see. I do not remember any work which deals so 
tersely, and so effectually with revival objections, as Mr. 
Caughey has done in these letters. He wastes no words ; 
he resorts to none of the intricacies of logic ; but simply 
grasps his opponent's objection with a hand, conscious of 
superior strength, and forthwith it shrinks and cowers in 
abject submission before him. I think this chapter will 
bceome an armory of choice, defensive weapons for the friends 
of revivals. 

The reader must bear in mind, that the objections here met 
were sent to Mr. Caughey by different persons, to whom he 
wrote these replies. Hence he does not always state them 
in due form, but they may be easily gathered from the 
replies, by a reflective mind. The abruptness with which he 
presents them is, as the reader has already learned, his 
peculiarity. If not consistent with elegance, it at least 
232 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OE REVIVALS. 233 

favors brevity. As usual, I have blended the letters into 
one continuous chapter. They were all dated from Liverpool 
during the winter and spring of 1843. 

Your objections are not worthy of attention ; but are you 
not on some points rather too severe ? at least, over positive ? 
Bead again the following : " I am convinced many persons 
are merely frightened into a religious life, by the singular 
services." This is the mere echo of your friend, Mr. * * *, 
who says, " when the terrors are off them, they will be as 
bad as ever." Perhaps not ; they may linger around their 
hearts till they change worlds. But many of them are 
entirely delivered from " the terrors," and are rejoicing 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory. I have heard scores 
of them bless God they ever heard the voice that terrified 
them. This shows they are neither displeased noi tired of 
the fright. 

" When you leave Liverpool, the results will be woeful 
enough." It is well if you do not desire your prophecies to 
be fulfilled, that you may have it to say, " I knew it would 
be so." 

" What man of reading and intelligence, who attends 
these meetings, can leave them without a conviction that 
there is a constant aim to excite the passions ?" There are 
very many intelligent people who frequent these services, 
think quite differently. 

" How little respect is paid to the understanding. Proofs 
of the existence of a God, immortality of the soul, divine 
authenticity of the scriptures, etc., are banished from the 
pulpit, where once they shone in all their glory." These 
are by no means neglected, but they are not discussed as 
they should be to ignorant pagans. Ninety-nine out of a 
hundred of those who attend these services regularly, believe 
20* 



234 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OP REVIVALS. 

these articles of our creed. We know this to be a fact. 
There are, however, thousands who can bear witness that the 
judgments of the hearers, and the doctrines of which you 
speak, have not been disregarded ; yet I freely admit, my 
object has been to drive down into the heart the knowledge 
of the head ; that is, to make them feel what they already 
know. If this is what you mean by exciting the passions, I 
must plead guilty. 

The sentiments of a minister, now with God, are worth 
hearing ; they once stumbled me, but I can well understand 
them now. " You may prove this, confirm or confute that, 
but who hates his sins ? Who cries for mercy ? Who turns 
to God ? Sinners may as well be hearkening to a mathema- 
tician demonstrating Euclid's Elements, as to a preacher 
only proving a point of Christianity. When I was a young 
man I endeavored to drive religion into the heads of my 
hearers, but I have given that up, and having learned a little 
more wisdom, I attack the heart only, and labor with all my 
might to melt them down in the tenderest manner, till they 
cry out, 4 1 have need of every thing God has done for me.' " 

Why detain a man to hear you prove that to which he 
readily assents ? What better way to drive a man to his 
feet, or knees, than to make him feel that it is his duty and 
interest to allow his belief to exert an entire influence over 
his affections and life ? 

"And o'er the sinner's naked heart, 
Scatter the living coals of truth." 

" Such crushing and crowding, — our chapels will be ruined." 
They were built for this purpose, and it is not unlikely they 
will be standing when you and I are in our graves. 

" We were going on quietly, and could worship God com- 
fortably before this stir." This may be correct, but it is no 
less true that sinners were going to hell by thousands. 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 235 

" Now, all is confusion ; families and servants are dis- 
tracted and uncontrollable, and the town is likely to be in an 
uproar." Perhaps you have not seen a late German writer 
on this subject. He can help you to a few ideas. Hear 
him : " Faithful ministers are often storm-birds, or messen- 
gers of misfortune. The preaching of the gospel by them 
is like the sinking of a burning mountain in the sea ; sleep- 
ers awake, and the dry bones are stirred. On such occa- 
sions the thoughts of many hearts are revealed. what 
divisions of heart may we then witness ! but the awakening 
preachers are regarded as the offending parties. ' The men 
who have turned the world upside down have come hither 
also.' " 

" These frenzied and mystical declamations respecting 
hell," — Hold ! do you believe there is such a place as hell 
in eternity ? The same as is represented in the Scriptures ? 
That sinners are in as great danger of falling into it now as 
1800 years ago ? If you deny this, I have nothing more to 
say to you in self-defence. We must occupy different posi- 
tions in regard to truth and duty, and the question in debate 
must be changed. But I shall take it for granted that you 
believe the above propositions. How then are men to be 
warned of such a dreadful reality ? 

Allowing that thousands of these Liverpool sinners, who 
eagerly crowd to hear the truth, are every moment in jeop- 
ardy of falling into hell, how are they to be aroused to a 
sense of their danger ? By any other mode of voice and feel- 
ing than what a firm belief in such an awful hell would natu- 
rally excite ? Should a watchman, at midnight, discover a 
house in flames over a sleeping family, how would you have 
him alarm the unconscious inmates ? "I would have him 
cry, Fire ! fire ! fire !" " Cry !" would you have him cry ? 
"But not like a man asleep, or drunk, or in jest, or afraid of 



236 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OE EEVIVALS. 

hurting their feelings, but in good earnest, and at the top of 
his voice, " Fire ! fire ! ! fire ! ! !" " But the danger is not 
so great." Are you sure of that ? Is there no family, or 
sinner in jeopardy of eternal burning among the multitudes 
who hear me from night to night ? The thread of life is a 
brittle affair : — 

4 And death, that flings at all, 
Stands armed to strike them down, and flames 
Attend their fall." 

I may not be long away from Liverpool, before the sudden 
death of some of these sinners, shall prove the dreadful truth 
of the sentiment. Ay, and the triumphant exit of several of 
these young converts may prove the time of their convert 
sion to have been a momentous crisis in their history. But 
to return. I once discovered a building on fire, with a 
number of wooden houses close by, and a heavy south wind 
to drive the flames onward. I awoke the neighborhood with 
a cry of fire, and saved the place. But no one blamed me 
for treating the matter as a reality. The same people, how- 
ever, complained loudly when I warned them of the danger 
of falling into hell with similar earnestness. Query, did 
they believe in a hell of fire, and that their souls were more 
valuable than their endangered property ? Did they not 
rather consider the loss of eternal life of less consequence 
than that of temporal life ? "A man may tell you," says 
a writer, " your house is on fire in such a way as to make 
quite an opposite impression, and you will take it for granted 
that your house is not on fire." May we not warn sinners 
in the same way, and make an impression exactly similar ? 
I have heard of two young men who were carting gravel 
from a pit. One of them met his companion returning with 
a load, whom he saluted as they passed : r Your cart will 
break down." A short distance from the spot it came to 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OE REVIVALS. 237 

the ground with a crash. When they again met, the unfor- 
tunate person was accosted, " I told you your cart would 
break down." " Yes, you told me," was replied, " but you 
said it in such a manner that I did not know whether you 
were in jest or in earnest. Why did you not tell me in such 
a way that I could not but believe you ?" 

It appears that you think the Liverpool sinners do not 
misunderstand me. Thank God! nor shall they while I 
remain in town. None of them shall tell God Almighty in 
the day of judgment, "James Caughey warned me of this 
day, and of a coming hell, but it was in such a manner that 
I could not tell whether or not he was in earnest." Why 
should I be called a fanatic for this ? An eminent minister, 
now in heaven, once defended himself from the charge of 
enthusiasm, in the following language : " Because I am in 
earnest, men call me an enthusiast. When I came into this 
part of the country I was walking on yonder hill. I saw a 
gravel-pit fall and bury three men. I lifted up my voice so 
loud that I was heard in the town below, at the distance 
of a mile. Help came, and rescued two of the poor suf- 
ferers. No one called me an enthusiast then. And when 
I see eternal destruction awaiting my fellow-men, some 
already engulfed in that hell, and others under a mass of sin 
and wrath which shall speedily sink them there, and call 
aloud for warning and help, shall I be called an enthusiast 
now?" 

Perhaps you may be inclined to make the application in 
my favor. 

You reason well; no rational man could object. But 
what has all this to do with the enlightened congregation at 
* * * * chapel? Have they not been sitting under the 
sound of the gospel for years ? Enter into conversation with 
scores and hundreds of them; — how clear their views upon 



238 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

all the essential doctrines of Christianity ! A large propor- 
tion of the young people have been trained in the Sabbath 
school, and are familiar with the holy Scriptures. Many of 
them are moral and upright in their conduct, but without 
any internal religion. Converse with them closely, and they 
will candidly admit they have never been born again. Not 
a few members of the society confess their state unsafe. 
Some, indeed, of that congregation, may doubt whether a 
knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins can be ob- 
tained ; but a vast majority allow even this. But they are not 
alarmed on the subject. Their hearts are still cold and in- 
different. What is to be done ? Could you, or any sensible 
man, believing the word of God, forbid a minister to cry unto 
the Lord, for an influence from heaven to come down upon 
these sinners ? On returning to the pulpit, should' he not 
bring his God with him, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
attempt to break them down into compunction for their sins ? 
How can he do this more readily, than by seizing upon the 
knowledge already in the head, as the element of alarming 
appeals to the conscience ? They have been reasoned with 
till their heads are as clear as those of devils ; but their 
hearts are like flint, and cold as ice. They believe as cor- 
rectly as devils do, but, unlike devils, there is no trembling. 
James ii. 19. They must be made to tremble, and be broken 
down before the Lord God of hosts, or they can never be 
saved. 

" You certainly impress the audience with a want of re- 
spect for their understanding, and so prejudice them against 
you and your message." It may be so ; I must run the risk 
of that. If they understood the matter properly, they should 
consider that I honor their intelligence. In some of my ser- 
mons, it is taken for granted, that they believe in all the doc- 
trines of the Bible. The point then at issue is, whether it is 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 239 

not high time they should test their principles, by a conscious 
and happy experience. In other words, that the enjoyments 
of the heart should harmonize with the "knowledge in the 
head." Upon this I labor with all my might. My plan, then, 
is to lay close siege to the heart and conscience, and storm 
them, if I can. If this cannot be done in one night, I return 
to the charge the next. And so, without any "flourish or 
prolusion," fall to blows, and that so rapidly as to give them 
no time to recover themselves. When they " cry for quar- 
ters," mercy is freely and generously offered through the 
blood of the Lamb. 

But forget not, that in every appeal made to the heart, 
there is a dignified recognition of principles already lodged 
in the understanding. 

I consider the intelligence of that congregation insulted, 
when a preacher, month after month, and year after year, 
engages their attention in proving and denning points of be- 
lief, and theological terms. I doubt whether they would 
bear with him three Sabbaths, but for the charity that hopes 
somebody needs enlightening upon such subjects. That min- 
ister does credit to the intellects of his audience, who drives 
home to the conscience, with a giant arm, truths which they 
profess to believe. He is only pushing received and ac- 
knowledged principles to their proper result in the conver- 
sion of the soul. 

You go on, " Why not a little system, and some attention 
to accent and cadence ? nor should you be above a nice 
definition of words. You are capable of all these, but you 
suffer your feelings to run away with your reason. I can see 
no good in all this furious bluster ; and as for such outcries 
among hitherto sober and sensible people — I am amazed." 
And thus it will be with you, till you understand my aim in 
preaching, — the conversion of sinners to God. It is in 



240 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OE REVIVALS. 

hearing this kind of preaching, as one looking at an archer 
shooting at a mark. Unless the by-stander notice the object 
aimed at, and observe the arrow the moment it leaves the 
string, there is nothing more seen of it, till it strike the 
ground, or stick fast in the mark. But let the design of the 
marksman be observed, and the flight-shaft is seen the 
moment it is delivered ; the eye following it through the air, 
till it strike the point to which it was directed. All confu- 
sion is then avoided, and the effect upon the mind most 
agreeable. 

Consider the intention of the minister ; notice the mark ; 
appreciate his motives ; recognize the adaptation of the truths 
delivered. Sympathize with the feelings of the man of God ; 
follow the shaft by the eye of faith, to the invisible heart of 
the sinner ; nor will you be surprised if he cry aloud, as in 
an agony from an arrow sticking fast. Having traced the 
cause to the effect, and the effect back to the cause, the sure 
results of gospel truth shall gladden your heart. The bitter 
complaints of one of old, mingling in the outcries, shall then 
be no confusion to you. " For the arrows of the Almighty 
are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit ; 
the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me." 
Job vi. 4. 

I am aware you have not received that answer which some 
of your remarks have richly merited. But, if you have 
thrown away from you common politeness and good humor, I 
choose to retain both. Beware, lest while you bear the 
character of a despiser, you wonder and perish. Acts xiii. 
41 . Remember it is written, " His arrows are made ready 
upon the strings," Ps. xxi. 12, and that he holds the arrow 
of death, as well as those suitable for conviction of sin. 
" God shall shoot at them with an arrow," says the Psalmist, 
" suddenly shall they be wounded " unto death. 



ARJUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 241 

" Several intelligent persons have vacated their pevs, in 
consequence of your fiery style of preaching." That I am 
aware of; but they are few in number. Were they to speak 
of their secret hearts, as freely as they do of me, I may 
venture to say, they would confess themselves attached to 
gins sufficient to damn them, were they to dio in them. 
They know it, and are disturbed. This is no discredit to mo 
among the angels of God, the spectators of this conflict, who 
are filling heaven with acclamations of joy over repenting 
sinners. 

I have seen many such cases ; but startling facts after- 
wards explained the matter, and .have cleared the preacher 
of all blame. 

"Why so pointed? why so severe? You will succeed 
just as well with softer words." To this I reply, words are 
the instruments by which the Spirit of God affects the mind. 
Sharp they must be, and powerful ; if like a two-edged 
sword, they pierce even to the dividing asunder the soul and 
spirit, the joints and marrow ; and severely searching, too, 
if their discernment penetrate even to the thoughts and the 
intents of the heart. Heb. iv. 12. An old divine, quoting 
the saying of a physician, "Soft words cure no wounds," 
added, " we may more truly say, Soft words give no wounds, 
and are not fit for the service." 

Two of your concluding sentiments are worth a line or 
two. " I never come, but there is a storm of hell and dam- 
nation." But you do not attend every night ; frequently, 
there is nothing of the kind. Such powerless seasons, 
however, cause me great sorrow of heart ; I would weep 
my life away on this account, were it not for the con- 
sideration, that quiet sermons may be necessary for certain 
minds, of mild temperament and kindly disposition. The 
jailor was surprised by terror, and sprang into the cell of 
21 



242 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

Paul and Silas, trembling, and fell down, saying, " Sirs, 
what must I do to be saved ?" But it is recorded in the 
same chapter, that, " The Lord opened the heart of Lydia," 
when hearing the truth of God by the river of Philippi. 
" He opened Lydia's heart with an oiled key," said a good 
man, " but an earthquake was necessary to open the heart 
of the jailor." 

Who dare say, that these two styles are not necessary for 
respective characters ; or even that the same kind of preach- 
ing is always suitable to the same individual ? If you are 
sent on the earthquake nights, to breathe amidst a "storm of 
hell and damnation," are you quite sure you do not need such 
arousing elements ? 

" You have a good deal of brass in your face, if, after the 
repeated hints you have received from certain quarters, you 
do not disappear from the town." I have a good deal of love 
in my hearty or I could not breast my difficulties ; and one 
of the old " Scotch worthies," (the persecuted Kutherford,) 
used to say, " Faith is the better for free air,* and for the 
sharp winter storm in its face ? " 

Not at all. I meant no such thing. The judgment should 
be addressed as well as the passions. "What I intend^!, and 
thought plainly stated, was, a minister of Christ should ad- 
dress the whole man. Appeals to the passions should not be 
made, to the neglect of the understanding, nor should the 
intellect be engaged while the passions are disregarded. 
Doubtless, those preachers are most successful who aim at 
both. Whether I fail in either, others must judge. Come and 
hear for yourself regularly, and without prejudice. Mark 
those parts of the sermon which speak to the judgment, and 
those designed for the passions, and you may possibly find 
as much intended for the former as for the latter. But ex 
pect not equal proportions in all the sermons, nor run away 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 243 

disgusted after a moving discourse. Come back the next 
night, and the following ; perhaps you may observe both 
matter and manner in the opposite extreme. If so, look out 
for another "storm," for these are only preparatory. 

Let us not disagree where we are really agreed. That 
" the judgment should be informed before the passions are 
moved," I allow. This is a good general rule, but the min- 
ister who is laboring for souls, is often the best judge. If 
he have the work at heart, he will converse with hun- 
dreds of his hearers, in a week or two, and be able to form a 
pretty correct estimate of their intelligence, and suit his 
preaching accordingly. Hence, a hearer, especially one 
who is only present once or twice a week, is far from being 
qualified to say, how such a man should preach to the crowds 
who surround him. In very many cases, the feelings must 
be moved before we can have access to the judgment. I 
cannot enter into a labored argument upon this point, for the 
want of time. I have visited many towns in the course of 
my travels, where a revival has broken out suddenly. Vast 
numbers have crowded into the house of God, out of mere 
curiosity. Some of them, " Wild as the untaught Indian's 
brood." Before such minds could be enlightened, I had to 
gain their attention ; but this was impossible, without an at- 
tempt to " rouse their passions,'* as you term it, by these 
objectionable appeals. The fear of that great and dreadful 
God whom they had offended, and the conscious danger of 
dropping into hell, have so " wrought upon their feelings," 
as to impel them to attend to the things which were spoken. 
Dark minds, forced by an aroused conscience to listen to the 
truth, became enlightened, and soon yielded themselves to 
God, through Jesus Christ. 

I recollect an instance of this kind, which took place at a 
camp meeting in the state of New York. A very wicked 



244 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

pnysician, driven on by the devil, come upon the ground. 
Day after day, regardless of the sanctity of the place and 
services, he despised the sons of God, and ridiculed the 
whole as a religious farce. His mind was as dark as that of 
an Indian of our forests, on the whole subject of religion. 
I was present the night he was struck to the ground, as by 
a flash of lightning. The point to be gained was to arrest 
his attention during a sufficient length of time to make an 
impression. A plain young man one night chose a text, 
Rom. vii. 11, 12 ; and instead of laboring to convince the 
judgment, he thrust directly at the conscience. Every sen- 
tence had a dagger point. His appeals to the conscience 
were absolutely terrific. The woods re-echoed ; the audience 
stood aghast, and Christians trembled before the Lord God 
of hosts. The man's attention was rivetted, the smile of 
contempt disappeared, and he fell to the ground as if a bul- 
let had passed through his body. Morning had not dawned 
upon that grove, before the results astonished all who were 
acquainted with the case. 

Several years ago, a few religious people and others were 
worshipping God. An old man arose, not so much to tell 
people what they did not know, as to make them feel all 
they knew. A hardened young sinner was there, while the 
exhorter, at the top of his voice, cried, " Sin and repent, sin 
and repent, till you repent in the bottomless pit." He 
afterwards said, that the word entered his " heart like a dag- 
ger." His "passions were excited," but an arrest was laid 
upon his attention. During five weeks God poured light upon 
his mind, by the instructions of his servants, which he was 
glad to receive, while suffering the agonies of a wounded 
spirit. At the end of that time, he received remission of 
sins, by faith ; enjoyed it several years, and then died happy 
in God. 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 245 

" The zeal of some men is of a haughty, unbending, , 
ferocious character,' ' you say. " They have the letter of 
truth, but they mount the pulpit like prize-fighters. It is 
with them a perpetual scold. It is not the spirit of 
Jesus Christ. He seems to have labored to win men." I 
never scold; it is against my principles. But when the 
love of Christ constrains, I persuade men with power and 
divine authority. Call this " ferocious," if you please. 
But I happen to know where you got the above criticism. 
Why did you not add the passage immediately in connection ? 
I shall do it for you. " But there is an opposite extreme. 
The love of some men is all milk and mildness. There is so 
much delicacy, and so much fastidiousness. They touch 
with such tenderness, and, if the patient shrinks, they will 
touch no more. The times are too flagrant for such a dispo- 
sition. The gospel is sometimes preached in this way, till all 
the people agree with- the preacher. He gives no offence, 
and he does no good." This is what another calls, " A 
general, soft, and toothless ministry;" and adds, "Icon 
fess I look upon nothing more dangerous and deadly." 

May the Holy Spirit teach me wherein I err ! 

This very morning I fell in with the following lines, which 
I consider the best answer I can give. It would seem as if 
they had been written expressly for yourself : — 

" Parrots themselves speak properly by rote, 
And in six months, my dog shall howl by note ; 
I laugh at those, who, when the stage they tread, 
Neglect the heart, to compliment the head ; 
With strict propriety, their cares confined 
To weigh out words, while passion halts behind : 
To syllable dissectors they appeal, 
Allow the accent, cadence — fools may feel; 
But spite of all the criticising elves, 
Those, who would make us feel, must feel themselves." 

You have stated many good things, but I have neither time 
21* 



246 AEGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES CE EEVIVALS. 

nor inclination, to take them up, one by one, or continue the 
correspondence. Compare your philosophy with what follows. 
Each sentiment might be a proposition. Carry them out, 
and they would tear your arguments to ribbons. " Truth 
and sympathy are the soul of an efficacious ministry. We 
may say, ' this or that is the aspect which ought to have 
most effect : we must illuminate the mind; we must enlist 
the reason ; we must attack the conscience.' " " We may 
do all this, and yet our want of success in begetting and 
educating the sons of glory, may demonstrate to us, that 
there is some more effective way. Man is a creature of feel- 
ing as well as intellect. We must interest them as we can. 
It is unphilosophical to depend on the mere statement of 
truth. The armor of Saul is armor for the camp of the 
Israelites, or in the camp of the Philistines, but we want the 
sling and the stone. I honor metaphysicians, logicians, 
critics, and historians, in their places. Look at facts. Men 
who lay out all their strength in statements, preach churches 
empty. They fail in their effects on their hearers, by not 
entering as philosophers into the state of human nature. 
They do not consider how low the patient is reduced. They 
set themselves to plant principles and prove points, when 
they should labor to interest the heart. Few men have wis- 
dom so large as to see, that the way they have not hitherto 
attained, may yet be the best way. I dare not tell most 
academical, logical, frigid men, how little I account of their 
opinion, concerning the true method of preaching to the pop- 
ular ear. I hear them talk as utterly incompetent judges." 
On the other matters, I have to thank you for your candoi , 
But have you never read the little story of the " irregular" 
apple tree ? A gentleman one day, when passing by an 
orchard, the trees of which were standing in regular rows, 
noticed one quite " out of order." He hailed the owner, 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OP REVIVALS. 247 

saying, "What a pity, Sir, that you should let that tree 
stand there ; were it mine, I would root it up, and thereby 
reduce my orchard to an exact uniformity." " I regard the 
fruit rather than the form," was the reply. " It more than 
compensates for the inconvenience arising from its situation. 
This tree which you would root up, hath yielded me more 
than many of those trees, which have little else to commend 
them, than their regular position." 

Are you quite sure, that Jesus Christ would not give you a 
similar reply, were you bold enough to carry the " objection" 
to him ? 

Here this controversy must close. I have other, and 
better work on my hands. Hundreds of sinners are turning 
to the Lord. Were it not for difficulties over which I have 
no control, both circuits would be wrapt in the flames of sal- 
vation, and many more sinners converted at this time. The . 
devil fought with me in Dublin, as the starting point of my 
labors in Ireland ; but my trials were nearly all mental. 
Liverpool is " the pass " into England. To me it is a Ther- 
mopylae ; but Satan has changed his mode of attack. His 
entrenchments, artillery, and agents are of a different kind. 
My eye is single. There is prudence connected with that, 
far beyond any thing worldly, and much more effectual. The 
singleness of the mental eye is a noble safeguard against the 
warpings of those selfish interests, which ruin a man's use- 
fulness, and blight the work of Grod. My one object is the 
salvation of lost sinners. This saves me from many snares 
and hurtful temptations. When souls are given me, I am 
happy : " Then, let or earth or hell assail." 

In bidding you adieu, I indulge the charity which " hopeth 
all things." Although you have used some hard words, not 
at all in keeping with the politeness current in the well- 
bred world, to say nothing of the apostolic injunction, " Be 



248 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

courteous ;" yet I would hope, you have not " set aught down 
in malice." Rather, that the sentiments of a good man now 
in glory, are more justly applicable. "If a man look at 
most of his prejudices, lie will find that they arise from his 
field of view being necessarily narrow, like the eye of a fly. 
He can have but littte better notions of the whole scheme 
of tilings, as has been well said, than a fly on the pavement 
of St. Paul's cathedral can have of the whole structure. 
He is offended, therefore, by inequalities, which are lost in 
the grand design." Think of the following sentence, it may 
assist you to more prudence, and render you less positive. 
" This persuasion will fortify him against many injurious and 
troublesome prejudices." My charity, however, need not 
hinder you from 

" Turning the leaves of sacred conscience o'er, 
Nor be afraid to search her hidden store." 
****** 

I understand perfectly the nature of these petty annoy 
ances. Never have I yet been in any great revival, without 
having had numbers of these squibs of the devil, and other 
fire- works let off about my ears. Seldom have they ceased 
making a noise, and spitting fire, till the poor creatures 
employed by the author of evil, (as the monkey employed 
the paws of the cat, in dragging the eatables out of the fire,) 
get converted to God; or till the revival either stop or 
become extremely popular. Sometimes I have felt it my 
duty to silence Satan's batteries, by the superior artillery 
of the gospel. But where the effect has been no other, than 
to keep my officers awake, and to stir them up to deeds of 
noble daring, I have let them fire away. My reply in such 
cases has been, " I am doing a great work, so that I cannot 
come down ; why should the work cease whilst I leave it, 
and come down to you ?" Neh. vi. 3. 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OE REVIVALS. 249 

Having a few moments on my hands, it is not improper, 
all things considered, to send you a short answer. 

You seem to be a sensible man, and I am surprised that 
you meddle with what it ia evident you are totally ignorant 
of. Were I to enter your shop, and interfere with your 
men, and attempt to give orders about a trade, of which I 
know just nothing, what would you think or say of me ? 
What but " he is a foolish, impudent, meddling, self-conceited 
coxcomb ?" 

Once, during a glorious revival, an unconverted lawyer, 
who was a member of the congregation, set himself to oppose 
me and the Leaders. A judicious friend brought him to his 
senses. " Suppose, Sir," he said, " an individual, who had 
never studied law, should come into your office, and begin to 
find fault with your legal proceedings ; and insist that, here 
after, you should govern yourself by his directions, how 
would you treat his impudence ? And how does it look, Sir, 
for you to be dictating to an experienced minister of God, 
and converted and intelligent Leaders, as to how they shall 
conduct this revival ?" 

This prompt defence of my friend, reminded me of a 
classical story. When Antony carped at the study of the 
civil law, acknowledging, at the same time, the small knowl- 
edge he himself had therein ; Scaevola, a great lawyer, smil 
ing said, that "he had made a hind of amends for his 
invective against the law, by professing his ignorance there- 
in.' ' A good man once replied to a sceptic : "It is no 
disparagement to any science or profession, to be slighted by 
such as understand it not." 

A few months ago, when in the south of Ireland, a zealous 
old Christian came into my room, saying, " Sir, I wa3 
exhorting sinners to turn to Christ, and believers to cry to 
God for an influence from above. My soul was very happy, 



250 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

and I called upon God to send down fire from heaven. A 
poor man cried out with great emotion, ' God forbid !' " 
They understood each other differently. The old saint wanted 
the fire of divine love to descend upon the hearts of the 
people ; the sinner thought he was calling for the fire of 
vengeance, and ventured to put a negative upon such a 
request ; — entering his protest against such a shower, with 
a "God forbid!" 

It is the same misunderstanding of spiritual things, which 
leads you to exclaim, "Blasphemy," in a lively meeting. 
You seem as ignorant of the phraseology necessary to a 
revival, as an Indian would be of the shouts for brick, and 
stone, and mortar, from the walls of a building in the course 
of erection. Nor will it ever be otherwise with you, till the 
publican's cry, " God be merciful to me a sinner!" be wrung 
from your agonized soul ; or till the first five verses of the 
one hundred and third psalm, become the language of your 
newly converted heart. In hell you may possibly under- 
stand the matter. Theology is studied there, were it for 
no other purpose, than to burn into the lost soul, lessons on 
the justice of its punishment. I care not a straw for your 
threatening. Neither you, nor any sinner in Liverpool, can 
do me any injury, unless it be given you from above. The 
will of God be done. When my work is finished in England, 
I shall cheerfully return to America. He can open, and 
no man can shut, and he can shut, and no man can open. 
I think it is Luther, who tells us of a certain Duke of Sax- 
ony, who determined upon war against a bishop of Germany. 
The prelate, instead of raising a military force to defend his 
town and territory, gave himself to prayer, and to the care 
of the church of God. The duke sent a spy into the com- 
pany of the bishop, for the purpose of learning his plan of 
attack, or defence. The spy returned, and the duke, with 



ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 251 

much eagerness, put forth his inquiries. " ! Sir, was the 
reply, " you may surprise him without fear ; he is doing 
nothing, and making no preparation." " How is that ?" 
inquired the duke, " what does he say ?" "He says he 
will feed his flock, preach the word, visit the sick, and that 
as for this war, he should commit the weight of it to God 
himself.' , " Is it so ?" said the duke, " then let the devil 
wage war against him, I will not ;" and added, if I remem 
ber aright, "It is a hazardous affair to attack him, who has 
engaged God in his quarrel." 

There is a lesson here for me and thee, and for all parties 
concerned. I have nothing to do but mind God's work, nor 
shall I do any thing else ; and that with simplicity and 
singleness of heart. While God surrounds me -with a crowd 
of young converts, and penitents, and unawakened but atten- 
tive sinners, my duty is plain. Some are to be built up on 
their most holy faith, others are to be converted, and vast 
masses broken down into sorrow for sin. Here is my work, 
and I shall do it with all my might, by the grace of God. 
When these things are accomplished, I shall disappear from 
Liverpool, and they may see my face no more. The weight 
of what you speak, I shall commit to God himself. 

In the dark days of Protestantism, in this country, a 
trooper rushed into a church, and ordered a faithful minister 
to stop preaching. The man of God went on with a steady 
voice, and firm countenance. The soldier raised a pistol to 
his head, and threatened him with instant death, if he did 
not desist. " Soldier," said the undaunted minister calmly, 
"lam doing my duty, you may do yours ;" and, with a still 
more exalted voice, proceeded with his sermon. 

God is mine, and I am his. This is settled ; and, ! 
what a paradise is this ! My feelings are not unlike those 
of a Christian lady in America, who said to me, " Brother, 



252 ARGUMENTS WITH THE ENEMIES OF REVIVALS. 

I feel like one sitting upon the summit of a high rock, 
who can scarcely hear the breakers at its base." The man 
who stands on the top of a lofty tower, 2 Sam. xxii. 2, 3, 
is regardless of the croaking of frogs and hissing of serpents 
below. What cares the full moon for the barking of dogs ? 
She is fixed in the heavens, and moves on, surrounded by 
her attendant stars. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

AND CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL . 

The following chapter is full of interest. It abounds in 
fine, pointed anecdotes. It exhibits the opinions formed of 
Mr. Caughey by lukewarm professors and worldly men. It 
furnishes an example to those ministers whose aims, efforts, 
and principles, being above the comprehension of a carnal 
world, call forth its anger. Mr. Caughey stood firm as a 
" Druid rock " amidst the beating waves of hostile opinions. 
He vanquished his foes by a meek perseverance in the work 
of God; by being himself unmoved, while his foes were 
excited against him. 

His replies to those who questioned him concerning the 
secret philosophy of his revivals, are worthy of careful 
study ; since his successful, simple philosophy, is within reach 
of every other minister. It is so compendious as to be 
easily comprehended and as easily remembered. That it is 
the true philosophy, will appear from its practical workings. 
In five months at Liverpool, it produced the glorious fruit of 
a thousand converts. 0, that every reader, and especially 
every minister, may learn well and truly that philosophy " 
aptly comprehended by Mr. Caughey in the single phra*. 

KNEE WORK! 

Yes ! in such cases it may do very well. We may man 
age those infirmities, as did the painter, when taking the 
22 253 



254 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

portrait of his friend. A blemish happened to be in one of 
his eyes, but he concealed the defect by painting the other 
side of the face. This was a delicate stroke, and not repre- 
hensible. The presence of the deformity was not absolutely 
necessary to a correct likeness, in a certain position. And 
thus it may be sometimes in preaching. Innocent and una- 
voidable imperfections are not needful to be described. We 
can do more good by throwing over them the mantle of con- 
cealment. No principle is sacrificed, by taking the most per- 
fect side of the character for our contemplation. But " cir- 
cumstances alter cases." Suppose the " frailties" are sinful, 
and known to the public, a minister is not at liberty to con- 
ceal or excuse. Principle, the good of others, and the concerns 
of a deathless soul, are concerned. " But would you announce 
his name ? " By no means; there is no occasion for that ; 
nor have I in your case. I would draw the portrait with those 
sinful blemishes in it, and it should be to the life too ; so that 
if the individual be known to the congregation, every one 
may discern the likeness, and avoid the example. If the 
failings are secret, then the sinner himself may behold his 
deformed features, and repent, as in dust and ashes. A 
certain minister was in the act of sketching such a character 
once. A poor fellow in the audience looked unutterable 
things, gazing all the time with intense interest. A few 
more touches by the faithful preacher, and the likeness was 
complete. He could restrain himself no longer, and cried 
out, " Name me I " with a look as if he would sink through 
the floor. Did you feel any thing like this on the night in 
question ? man ! secure such a character upon you, by 
the grace of God, that you shall not be ashamed of your 
picture any where. 

You say, " It is disgusting and horrible for any minister 
to descend to such personalities. It is mean; you know 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 255 

well enough that what you said could apply to none but my- 
self." I knew nothing of the kind, nor any thing about 
you. I did indeed " paint " a face and form, with a peculiar 
drapery, and so like yourself, it would seem, that you knew 
your visage and garb ; and now you must wear them till you 
provide yourself with something better. I am as innocent 
in the whole affair, most surely, as was an old Local Preacher 
of my acquaintance in America, similarly circumstanced, 
He was a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and 
much people were added to the Lord by his instrumentality. 
Preaching once in a private house, which was full, a certain 
character came up suddenly before his mind. This he 
sketched admirably, in " full length." A man at the door 
became greatly agitated, and forgetting the peculiarity of 
his situation, called out to the preacher, " Why don't you 
talk to some of the rest, and not to me all the time ? " "I 
did not know you were there," replied the good man, "but 
if the coat suit you, put it on and wear it, and be thankful, 
and I shall try to fit some of the rest." Ah ! Sir, if there 
was more of such preaching, men could no% frequent our 
congregations, nor applaud the minister, and live at the 
same time in gross vice. No, no ! They would either 
absent themselves from the hearing of the searching truth, 
or get converted to God. The above fact is so applicable to 
yourself, there is no need for comments. 

" There were other offensive remarks, which I know applied 
to others, even Wesley ans ; but such vulgar descriptions 
should never be brought into the pulpit." I cannot agree 
with you there. If people are " vulgar " enough to commit 
such things, the minister of God, rather than have the blood 
of souls found in his skirts, must reprove boldly, even at the 
risk of being charged with vulgarity. " Reproofs of this 
kind should always be given in private." You amuse me 



256 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

I 

Take the following incident as my reply : An eminent man, 
since gone into eternity, once publicly reproved a certain 
class of men with whom he was associated. Stung by his 
pointed remarks, they complained of his imprudence and 
severity, adding, " You should have done this privately, and 
in Latin." He replied, " When you transgress privately 
and in Latin, I will rebuke you privately and in Latin ; but 
when publicly and in English, I shall rebuke you publicly 
and in English." While upon this part of your letter, I 
must remind you of the saying of a zealous minister of 
Christ, some years ago, which it is not unlikely you have 
read. He preached one day, very pointedly, against those 
sins which prevail among the wealthy. A nobleman being 
present, left the house of God much out of humor, and sent 
his servant to the minister, with this message : " Sir, you 
have offended my lord to-day." The noble reply was, " I 
should not have offended your lord, except he had been con- 
scious to himself he had first offended my Lord ; and if your 
lord will offend my Lord, let him be offended." Do you not 
think the following to be applicable to your case ? A cer- 
tain knight, in the days of Cromwell, entered a charge against 
a faithful preacher, to this effect, that he was " preached at 
in church." What was Cromwell's advice ? " Go home, 
Sir John, and hereafter live in good friendship with your 
minister. The word of the Lord is a searching word, and I 
am afraid it has found you out." 

You are certainly mistaken. NiVunni V autre, "Neith- 
er the one nor the other." No human being has told me a 
single word about you. I have no doubt it was the Spirit of 
God, which led my mind to those points, which turn out to 
be facts. Beware how you blame any one. God is in it : 
your sins have found you out. It is a mere trick of the 
devil, to charge * * * with it, or anyone else. Satan knows 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 257 

there is no readier way to irritate your mind, and destroy the 
impression, than to impute the affair to some " tattling busy- 
body," instead of the Holy Ghost, who knows all about you. 
E would not take pains to send you the following, in the min- 
ister's own words, but for a desire to counterwork the de- 
signs of the enemy of your soul : — 

" I was once applied to by a stranger, in a place where I 
was laboring for a few Sabbaths only, for a sight of a letter 
which I had received calumniating his character. I looked at 
the man and pitied him, and coolly replied, * It would be a 
breach of the common principles of society, to show confi- 
dential letters written to us for the purpose of our doing peo- 
ple good.' He retorted in an angry tone, 1 1 demand a sight 
of it, Sir, as an act of justice due to an injured man.' I re- 
plied, ' How did you know that I have received a letter con- 
cerning you ? ' 6 Know ! ' said he, ' it was impossible not to 
know it ; your language and manner were so pointed, that it 
was impossible I should be deceived.' I rejoined, i Do not 
be too positive ; you have been deceived before now, I sup- 
pose ; you may be so again.' ' It is not possible,' said he ; 
1 you described the sin of which I am accused in the clearest 
language ; ' and, looking me in the face, and pointing to- 
wards me, you said, ' Sinner, be sure your sins will find you 
out ; I therefore expect from you, Sir, as a genflfeman and a 
Christian minister, that you will give me a sight of the let- 
ter, that I may know its contents and repel its charges.' I 
observed, ' I do not know your name ; to my knowledge I 
never saw you before ; and as you have not told me in what 
part of the sermon it was I was so pointed, if I show you 
any letter I may show you the wrong one ; I shall therefore 
certainly not exhibit any of my letters to you, nor satisfy you 
whether I have received any one about you, till you describe 
the case alluded to.' He hesitated, but afterwards described 
22* 



258 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

the sin of which he was accused. When he had finished, 
looking him full in his eyes, assuming a solemn attitude, and 
using a grave and serious tone of voice, I said, ' Can you 
look me full in the face, as you must your Judge at the great 
day of God, and declare that you are innocent of the sin 
laid to your charge ? ' He trembled, turned pale, and his 
voice faltered ; guilt and anger struggling in his breast, like 
the fire in the bowels of Mount iEtna, and summoning up 
his remaining courage, — 'I am not bound to make any man 
my confessor ; and if I were guilty, no man has a right to 
hold me up to public observation, as you have done.' I as- 
sumed a benignity of countenance, and softened my tones, 
saying, 'Do you believe the passage I cited — be sure your 
sins will find you out — is the word of God ? ' He answered, 
' It may be.' ' Surely it is,' said I ; ' he that made the ear, 
shall he not hear ; he that made the eye, shall he not see ; 
can he have any difficulty in bringing your sin to light ? 
Now I will tell you honestly, I never received any letter or 
information about you whatever ; but I am persuaded your 
sin has found you out ; the preaching of the word is one 
method by which God makes men's sins find them out. Let 
me entreat you seriously to consider your state and 
character ; who can tell, God may have intended this sermon 
for your gofji ; he may mean to have mercy upon you ; this 
may be the means of saving your body from the gallows, and 
your soul from hell ; but let me remind you, you are not 
there yet ; there still is hope.' He held down his head, 
clenched his hands one into the other, and bursting into tears, 
said, ' I never, never met with any thing like this ; I am cer- 
tainly obliged to you for your friendship ; I am guilty, and 
hope this conversation will be of essential advantage to 
me.' " 

A little more than two years ago, I was preaching in an 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 259 

American town. A merchant was there, and during the ser- 
mon his portrait was so correctly drawn, that he left the 
house in a rage. Next day, he was going to wreak his ven- 
geance upon a shoemaker, whom he suspected to be the in- 
former. The poor man protested that he had never men- 
tioned his name to me, nor had he related a single circumstance 
to any person, connected with his history. 

It is rather amusing, that this very morning, a good lady 
called upon me, lamenting in bitter terms the treachery of 
her enemies ; weeping, as if her heart would break ; re- 
proaching me, at the same time, with the meanness of my 
conduct, in exposing her before the whole congregation. I en- 
treated her to explain ; and when she had attained sufficient 
composure, reminded me of a sermon I had preached on a cer- 
tain night, in which I had described her character. Poor wo- 
man, her likeness had been so " striking" that it had nearly 
thrown her into a state of frenzy. The malice of her neighbors , 
and my ungentlemanly behavior in the pulpit, descending 
to such personalities, and daring to drag her before such mul- 
titudes, were unbearable. In order to relieve the distressed 
woman, I had to call God to witness, that no person had ever 
said a word about her to me, in any way whatever ; and that 
I had no recollection of having ever seen her before. What 
her after reflections were, I know not, but it is to be hoped, 
she has this day learned a lesson, which may be an eternal 
blessing to her. 

Take care, then, my dear Sir, of what you are about, lest 
you may find yourself fighting against God. He always 
warns before he strikes, and gives repeated blows ere the 
final one is inflicted. Repent, man ; the last stroke is coming, 
and the longer the swing, the more tremendous it will be 
when it comes. There is little of man in this business. The 
warning is from Heaven ; it has been delivered faithfully, 



260 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

and has found a lodgment in your conscience. Attend to 
it ; but, 0, do not quarrel with me ! 

" When God supports, who then can cast us down ? 
His smiles are life, but death attends his frown." 

Ludicrous as the following may appear, your conduct bears 
to it an exact resemblance. I remember nothing better as 
an illustration. A few years ago, in the vicinity of an 
American town, (the scene, by the way, of a part of my 
labors in the ministry,) the circumstance which follows oc- 
curred. It was related to me as a fact, by a man of veraci- 
ty. Near the town was a canal, along the bank of which, 
a fellow was one day walking, when a thunder cloud came 
rolling up. A sudden flash of lightning, attended by a peal 
of thunder, startled him; and about the same moment he 
received a stunning blow. It appears the lightning had 
struck very near him, and a powerful electric shock was the 
result. He was probably within a hair's breadth of losing 
his life. But instead of considering the concussion as arising 
from the violence of the lightning, he suspected some one 
had struck him with a stone. Determining upon vengeance, 
he scrambled around for a weapon, and seizing a large clod 
of hard earth, he fixed his body in a certain attitude, and his 
arm in a proper position, and waited for his supposed enemy to 
peep from behind the abutment of the bridge over the canal, 
that he might repay him for his treachery. Nobody appear- 
ing, he became thoughtful, mistrusted the cause, and threw 
down the clod ; the nimble lightning had disappeared, and 
the source of its power was too high for his revenge. Job 
xxviii. 26. 

But, can you see no resemblance of yourself here ? Why 
this menacing attitude against your humble servant ? If the 
truth of God has reached your heart ; if facts, of which 1 






CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 261 

am not the author, have struck you into remorse, am I to be 
Dlamed ? Yours is the fault, for having prepared yourself, 
by a course of sin, to be thus astounded by the truth of God. 
Those convictions, which have blazed across your mind, have 
had a higher origin than man. You have received a shock 
from Heaven — the Holy Spirit's lightning-stroke ; you should 
thank God you were not struck into hell. And yet, like the 
man stunned by the lightning, you impute it to a fellow 
creature. If you dare not retaliate with blows, you have re- 
sorted to very hard words. Pardon my again alluding to the 
above incident ; but there is a moral in it. Missing a stone, 
he grappled a clod, and though bones would not have been 
broken, yet he might have insulted an innocent person, 
for which a humiliating apology would have been demanded. 
When in Ireland, last June, one of the preachers related 
the following, in which I was much interested. A certain 
preacher was holding forth, in a certain place, and he de 
scribed the character of a sinner present, so strikingly, that 
he concluded the minister was pointing him out, knowing him 
to be there. The next night he concealed himself in a cor- 
ner, where he was sure the preacher could not see him. The 
preaching, however, was as personal as ever, and his feelings 
so correctly delineated, that there could be no mistake, — he 
had been detected. The succeeding night, he secreted his 
person where there could be no possibility of being seen. It 
was of no use ; during the sermon, the voice of the servant 
of God fell upon his ear like thunder : " Sinner ! come out 
of your lurking-place ; thou art the man ! " " Ah ! well," he 
thought, " what avails it ? Somebody has been telling the 
stranger all about me ; but I shall not leave till I know who 
the vagabond is." After preaching, he stepped forward, and 
boldly inquired of the minister who it was that had been 
" after telling such things " about him. " I have nothing 



262 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

against your honor," and, doubling his fist, he declared what 
he would do to " the rascally informer." " My friend," said 
the other, " no human being has told me any thing about 
you ; but the Spirit of God has." Conviction at that mo- 
ment fastened upon his heart, and he rested not till he found 
salvation. I believe he is yet alive, and on his way to 
heaven. 

You say, " Your preaching would sting and terrify a devil." 
Well, you know, it is written, " The devils also believe and 
tremble." Is it any wonder then, that the truth has af- 
fected you, as it is to be hoped you are of a softer material ? 
It reminds me of what Eupolis said of Pericles — " After his 
orations to the people of Athens, it was found he had left 
certain needles and stings in their minds." I should be 
ashamed of the doctrines of Christianity, if they could not 
accomplish more than the politics and philosophy of Pericles. 
You are a witness, that the gospel is the same now as in the 
days of St. Peter, " when thousands were pricked in their 
heart, and inquired, Men and brethren, what shall we 
do ? " Acts ii. 37. But on that very day their wounds were 
healed by faith in that blood which they had shed on Calvary, 
and about three thousand souls were added to the infant 
church. You are quite out of humor with a sentiment in my 
last, but I shall repeat it. God never strikes before he warns. 
It is remarkable in the dealings of God with sinners, how 
close he keeps to that direction given through Moses to the 
armies of Israel — " When thou comest nigh unto a city to 
fight against it, first offer conditions of peace." " It was on 
this great principle Noah was sent to the old world," says an 
old divine ; " Moses and Aaron to Egypt, Lot to Sodom, 
Jonah to Kinevah, and the prophets, and even Christ, to 
Jerusalem." God has established this order in nature. 
Winter is always preceded by the chilling breath of autumn 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 263 

and seared leaves, and withered flowers. Evening shades, or 
twilight, before dark night. Thunder never bursts over our 
heads in a clear sky. " Clouds are his chariots, and light- 
nings his steeds." The volcano grumbles long and loud- 
ly, with many fitful gleams, and much smoke, ere it 
bursts forth to overwhelm vineyards and towns at its base. 
The hurricane is often heralded by startling changes in na- 
ture, and those who are observing, prepare for its fury. 

There is a bitter storm approaching you ; a wing of it 
sweeps you already. Strike sail, man, before its entire 
weight bursts upon your unhappy soul. A smooth sea and 
fair appearances do not always deceive the experienced eye 
of the sailor. The ocean may look like a standing pool, with 
scarcely a ripple upon its surface ; yet there is trouble in the 
offing, and the top and top-gallants are lowered ; in fact 
there is little left but naked spars, to struggle with the first 
sudden rush of the tornado. 

God, my dear Sir, has given you a warning ; prepare for 
the blow. It is surely coming. Is it not written, " Woe 
unto him that striveth with his Maker?" Who can deny 
those striking sentiments of a good man ? " There is no 
contending with sovereignty ; no resisting omnipotency ; no 
striving with our Maker. The fish that is caught with the 
hook, the more he jerks and flings, the faster hold the hook 
takes of him. The harder a man kicks against the pricks, 
the deeper they enter into his heels. An earthen pitcher, 
the more forcibly it is dashed against an iron pot, the sooner 
it flies in pieces. In like manner, the more we contend with 
God and his judgments, the more we hurt, wound, and, in 
the end, destroy ourselves. Be not like the dog that bites 
the stone, never looking upon him that flings it. Mark him 
who aims at you, and has hit you ; and say with David, ' I 
was dumb, and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.' 



264 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

Or cover your mouth with Job : ' Behold I am vile, what 
shall I answer thee ? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 
Once have I spoken, but I will not answer ; yea twice, but 
I will proceed no farther.' Job xl. 4. Have you read of 
the philosopher, who was censured for not holding out his ar- 
gument with Adrian, the emperor ? His apology was, ' Is 
it not reason to yield to him, who hath thirty legions at his 
command V God is terrible out of his holy places. Legions 
innumerable are ready to avenge his quarrel. He could 
look you into the grave, or into hell, in a moment. ' Be- 
cause there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his 
stroke.' Job xxxvi. 18. Yield, man! Discontinue the 
controversy. He would have doomed you to destruction 
long ago, but for a strong desire to save. You have an Ad- 
vocate above. He died for you, and lives to intercede. His 
blood speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. Fly ! 
fly to the cross ! and plead for pardon through the merits of 
that atoning blood. There is mercy implied in all these warn- 
ings. Appeal from the bar of justice, to the throne of God's 
grace. There is a disposition there to favor your cause. 
God looks graciously from thence ; a Mediator is there, and 
your Judge is disposed to be kind through him. What 
would a criminal do, suppose ye, if he should notice an in- 
clination to mercy in his judge ? Would he remain listlesi 
with such an advantage before him, or fail to urge his friend3 
to entreat for his life ? Why not say with penitent Austin, 
' Why do I still procrastinate my coming unto thee, Lord ? 
Why not now ? Why not this day ? Why should there not 
be this hour an end of my sinful course of life ? '" 
****** 

Your first inquiry amuses me. " Will you let me into the 
secret philosophy of these revivals ? " Yes, with all my 
heart ! 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 265 

" Are you aware that, in some circles, your continued suc- 
cess is the subject of various speculations ? " I do not ques- 
tion it; this is a tax which persons in my situation must 
pay. 

"I have been present when your powers of mind have 
been discussed." Better they had been employed upon 
something more profitable. 

" Much was said of your peculiar tact for conducting re- 
vivals ; one called it a kind of a witchery over the feelings 
of the people ; another questioned your motives," etc. I 
have become hardened to such animadversions. A sinner, 
when I was at Bandon, in Ireland, fled from the chapel, say- 
ing, " He is enough to frighten a fellow out of his senses ; he 
must have been the very devil himself before he took to this 
way, or he could not tell a man all he has been guilty of." 
A few nights since, a good lady left chapel, exclaim- 
ing, " The man is a wizard ; there is nothing in one's heart 
that he does not blab out." I hope she will have no rest 
till converted to God. 

"Your sermons have been canvassed, taken to pieces, 
analyzed, compared with those of other ministers, and pro- 
nounced far inferior ; but the results seemed to stumble 
them." So, if I have much to humble me, there is, after 
all, something to encourage. My humble success is owing 
to an influence above and beyond their criticisms. A minis- 
ter once came to hear the late Mr. William Dawson preach. 
After sermon, in a neighboring house, he spoke of the won- 
derful effects produced by Mr. D.'s preaching, and wished 
that he could accomplish the same by his pulpit efforts. 
"Ah, Sir !" said the lady of the house, "you must move 
the hand of Him that moves the world, before you can wit- 
ness these effects." The "power of the Holy Ghost" ac- 
company ing hard, patient, steady, constant labor, with many 
23 



266 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

tears, and much crying to God in private, have produced the 
" results " which are so mysterious to those of whom you 
speak. Knee work! knee work! ! knee work!!! This is 
the secret. 

" My powerful groans thou canst not bear, 
Nor stand the violence of prayer, 
My prayer omnipotent ! " 

" Give me a revival, convert sinners, or I pine away and 
die," is a cry that is much thought of in heaven ; nor will 
He who pities the groanings of the distressed soul, treat it 
with indifference. He will come down out of the holy place, 
and make bare his arm in the sight of all the people ; wound 
the dragon and cut Rahab in pieces. Then shall the feeblest 
servant of God often thresh the mountains, and beat the hills 
to chaff; one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thou- 
sand to flight, and the slain of the Lord shall be many. Let 
any minister (who has not mistaken his call) thus plead with 
God, while, week after week, every night, from a full and 
bleeding heart, he pours the burning, pointed truths of 
the gospel, into the ranks of sinners ; and, whatever may 
be his talents, he shall be a joyful witness of a glorious re- 
vival. 

As to the " getting up" of my sermons, you will find the 
history of the affair in a lesson I once received from an old 
divine. "I desire my sermons to be like Monica's son; 
children of many prayers and tears, and thereby the more 
unlikely to perish. Let all your sermons, as dew, be heaven- 
bom, that they may drop down like rain upon the mown 
■^rass. Let prayer be the key to open the mysteries of 
Christ to you ; and let prayer be the turning of the key, to 
lock them up safe within you. Let prayer open and shut all 
vour books ; form and write, and begin and continue every 
sermon. Ah ! how should he pray both before and after 






CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 267 

his preaching, who by every sermon preaches his beloved 
neighbors into eternal burnings or eternal pleasures ? " 

The " serious objections " of are, indeed, of weight. 

They remind me of what Pliny the Younger reported of 
Egypt ; that she boasted of owing nothing to the clouds, or 
any foreign streams, for her fertility, being abundantly 
watered by the sole inundations of her own river, the Nile. 
It becomes me, as a stranger, to say the same of England. 
God has, indeed, greatly enriched her with the streams of 
salvation. It may seem presumption for a wandering cloud 
like me to think of adding any thing to the mighty river of 
religious knowledge, which meanders through this country in 
all directions. May I not, however, comfort myself with the 
reflection, that many a thirsty spot has been refreshed by a 
sprinkling from a cloud, wafted from afar ? I trust that 
many in Liverpool do know that the stranger does not 
resemble that which is mentioned by St. Jude, " A cloud 
without water." 

In conclusion, the opinions of the other parties weigh quite 
as light with me, as any thing enumerated by the ancient 
poet : — 

" My soul, What's lighter than a feather ? Wind. 
Than wind ? The fire. And what than fire ? Moonshine. 
What's lighter than moonshine ? A thought. Than thought ? 
This bubble world. What than this bubble ? Nought." 

Mr. Caughey now resumes his brief notices of the revival 
in Liverpool. 

We have had " protracted meetings " in two other chapels 
on the South Circuit : Mount Pleasant, and Wesley chapel. 
Stanhope street. The former is a small building, in which 
we had a good work, though I did not enjoy such freedom in 
preaching there as elsewhere. At the Stanhope street 
chapel, the word of the Lord had free course, and was glo 



268 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

rified. Here my soul enjoyed great liberty, and many 
sinners were converted to God. Although I had some trib- 
ulation to endure, yet so long as no man had power to shut 
the door of usefulness, I labored on with joy and success. 
This is the chapel, in which my kind host and hostess, Mr. 
and Mrs. Banning, worship ; and I found a large portion of 
the congregation possessed of the same elevated and enlight- 
ened views of the work of God, with which their souls are 
animated. During my stay in this chapel, more than three 
hundred sinners obtained remission of sins, through faith in 
the blood of the Lamb. The last night we spent there, we 
had a select meeting for the new converts, and it was a most 
affecting time. Scores of sinners came forward at the close 
to be prayed for, and a few were saved. My mind was 
greatly oppressed at leaving this chapel for another part of 
the town ; but the aspect of circumstances clearly pointed 
out my path. 

• Ah ! I can carry myself with " ease and indifference " 
towards a thousand things that are trying, when they have 
no connection with the salvation or damnation of precious 
souls. However, what sorely pained me, was overruled for 
the " furtherance of the gospel." A poor man was once 
heard to say, that he was once rich, and had learned some- 
thing of God ; that he prayed continually for " a closer walk 
with God." " But at first," said he, " when God began to 
answer my prayers, I thought he was going to destroy me ; 
he deprived me of every thing I had ; but he gave me what 
was of infinitely more value, even to know more of himself 
and Jesus." And thus my narrow mind mourned over 
surrounding difficulties, when the Lord was, by these means, 
leading me to see some of the richest displays of the power 
of God, in another part of the same vineyard. 

The Rev. A. E. Farrar, Superintendent of the North 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 269 

Circuit, kindly invited me to return and spend a few weeks 
among the people of his charge. But at this time, the 
Welsh Methodists also insisted upon having a claim upon 
part of my services, and gave me a hearty invitation to visit 
their chapels. I questioned the propriety of the step, but 
the following arguments of a few friends removed my objec- 
tions: "First, these Welsh chapels are under the control of 
our Wesley an Conference, and from that body the congrega- 
tions receive their preachers, who minister to the people in 
the Welsh language. Secondly, the chapels are in the 
neighborhood of those you have already visited on the South 
Circuit. Thirdly, although they are accustomed to hear 
preaching in Welsh, they understand enough of English to 
make it a medium for a blessing through your ministry. 
Fourthly, many of the wounded sinners you are leaving at 
Wesjey chapel, will follow you, and get healed among the 
Welsh Methodists." Events soon proved, that they were 
not wrong in their calculations on this point. 

Many of the English leaders and local preachers accom- 
panied me, and after sermon, united vigorously in prayer, 
for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As the services pro- 
gressed, we discovered that the Welsh brethren, though full 
of love and zeal, had the disadvantage of not being able to 
pray fluently in English. It was proposed that the Welsh 
ministers, with their leaders, should pray in Welsh, alter- 
nately with the English brethren. The plan answered admi- 
rably. Very soon the power of God was displayed in the 
conversion of sinners. When the English leaders prayed, 
the responses were mostly confined to the English Metho- 
dists ; but the moment a Welsh brother began, the scene and ' 
sounds among the people were entirely changed. With 
uplifted hands, and voices indicating the deepest emotion, 
they responded to the ardent supplications of their leader ; 



270 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL, 

i 

the English Christians, in the mean time, remaining in solemn 
silence, but breaking out at intervals with an " amen," or 
" glory," as the inflections of the leading voice, or the amens 
of the Welsh, resembling, "Hear, hear, hear" indicated, 
until the feeling became so overpowering, that restraint 
seemed impossible, and a general burst of " Glory be to 
God ! " from the English, mingled with the loud hallelujahs 
of the Welsh. 

/ This was especially the case when their minister, the 
Rev. * * * * * *, prayed. He is considered one of the most 
eloquent and powerful speakers among the Welsh preachers. 
He is a man of fine natural powers, richly cultivated, and is 
deeply devoted to God. His voice has considerable compass 
and sweetness, and capable of the most moving intonations. 
I speak now of his exercises in his native tongue. He 
appeared quite indisposed to engage in English, although in 
private he converses in it rather fluently. Whenever he 
began to pray, I felt my whole being arrested. His voice 
arose into what appeared to be a succession of climaxes, and 
as one sentence climbed above another, the congregation 
ascended with him, until the effects were really overpower- 
ing ; and when he came to the loftiest point, — when every 
thing of the highest importance to man's eternal interests 
seemed as if tottering upon the rugged pinnacle of some 
tremendous precipice, — the tears which streamed down his 
manly face, and the long, loud, and heart-rending cries of 
Welsh sinners, mingling with the subdued tones of imploring 
believers, told those of us who could not understand' his lan- 
guage, where he had landed them, and how profoundly awful 
were the effects upon their minds. Several of the English 
brethren told me, that though strangers to the import of his 
words, they felt their hearts agitated with the most singular 
and powerful emotions. Many were the saved of the Lord ; 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 271 

but to what extent we shall never know, till that great day 
when Imraanuel comes to gather home his jewels. 

The Rev. Mr. Farrar, and his colleagues in the ministry, 
together with the leaders and local _ preachers of the Bruns- 
wick chapel, becoming pressing in their solicitations, that I 
should return to the circuit, and hold a few meetings in the 
above place of worship, we reluctantly concluded the services 
among the Welsh. The Brunswick chapel is an elegant 
building, with an imposing front, adorned with columns, and 
stands on a fine and elevated situation. The interior is 
handsomely fitted up in the form of an amphitheatre, one tier 
of seats rising above another to a considerable height, with- 
out any gallery, with the exception of two small wings behind 
the pulpit, to the right and left of the orchestra and organ. 
It seats about seventeen hundred, but twenty-three hundred 
can be crowded into it. 

Various opinions were circulated in town, respecting the 
results of revival efforts in this chapel. Many wealthy fam- 
ilies worship here, and the general character of the congre- 
gation is serious and intelligent. " We shall see," said the 
speculators, " how revivals will go on among the aristocracy 
of Methodism." The prevailing opinion was, that as they 
had long been considered the opponents of noise and excite- 
ment, a failure would be the unquestionable result. Blessed 
be God, such speculations and prophecies have come to 
nothing. Never have I labored with more freedom and 
delight in any congregation, or with greater success, than in 
the Brunswick chapel. There was little, if any, of that 
mean and secret opposition I have met with elsewhere. 
When there was a burst of noise, attended with a good deal 
of what is considered revival confusion, they bore it with a 
noble generosity, and a forbearance that did them honor. 
Men and women of mind, education, and influence, retained 



272 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

their seats in solemn awe. They saw the distress of sinners^ 
and sympathized with them, and how peculiarly the mini • 
ters and leaders were situated ; often taking our part, saying 
" We do not see how the^ meetings could be managed better, 
if the revival is to go on at all. The congregation is increas- 
ing, the society enlarging, classes are being filled with con- 
verted sinners from the world. That we needed such a 
visitation as this is quite plain, whatever the results may be ; 
and we shall neither run away from this astonishing move- 
ment, nor shall we oppose it." 

It is right, however, that credit should be given where it 
is due. I am convinced, that the noble conduct of many 
influential individuals and families, has imbibed a most gra- 
cious influence from the position taken by their excellent 
Superintendent and his worthy colleagues. These servants 
of God, in public and private, acknowledge and defend the 
revival; and great as is their popularity, cheerfully and 
generously offer me their pulpits, and every co-operation 
within their power. 

During the first week, forty professed conversion ; and 
during the next, forty-four. The revival is still progressing 
gloriously in Brunswick chapel. Many have been saved 
within a few days past. I have been preaching to the 
young the last two nights, and the word of the Lord has 
had free course, and is glorified. 

The Temperance cause in Liverpool is progressing. I 
have delivered several lectures in the Music Hall, on the 
propriety of total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors ; a 
large number, each night, joined the Tee-total Society. A 
tea meeting has been given by the tee-totallers, " to cele- 
brate the arrival" of your friend in England. The affair 
was got up in a most tasteful and spirited manner ; and I 
had the pleasure of taking tea with about seven hundred 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 273 

persons in the Music Hall. The company was highly respect- 
able. After tea, several excellent addresses were delivered. 
One, especially, by a Wesleyan minister, the Rev. George 
B. Macdonald, of Leeds, was most eloquent and convincing. 
In the present age, a minister deprives himself of a great 
moral power, when, for the sake of a little wine now and 
again, he excludes himself from such fine opportunities of 
scattering the eternal truths of God, among a mass of mind 
which otherwise he could never reach. Mr. Macdonald told 
some thrilling anecdotes, which had a direct tendency to 
awaken sinners to the concerns of eternity. I have no 
doubt great good was done. 

Here follow some opinions concerning a nervous person, 
of whom Mr. Caughey's correspondent had written. These 
sudden digressions grow naturally out of an epistolary style, 
although they embarrass an attempt at consecutive narrative 
with such materials. 

I had almost forgotten the case of ****** . There is 
a close connection between the body and the mind, and they 
always, more or less, exert a mutual influence upon each 
other. " The web of life," says one, " the soul and body, are 
strangely and intimately interwoven with each other, and a 
reciprocal influence is constantly exerted. The system acts 
upon the mind, and the mind upon the system." I apprehend, 
however, that Mr. ***** ' £ trouble has originated from a 
source that he is not willing to allow ; that is, the separation 
of his soul from close and intimate communion with God. 

I was much struck, when reading Lord Nelson's Life, with 
the account he gives in one of his private letters, of the 
secret unhappiness of his heart when almost at the height 
of his glory. " There is no true happiness in this life ; and 
in my present state, I could quit it with a smile. Believe 



274 CLOSING LABOES IN LIVERPOOL. 

me, my only wish is to sink with honor to the grave. Not 
that I am insensible to the honors and riches my king and 
country have heaped upon me, so much more than any officer 
could deserve ; yet I am ready to quit this world of trouble, 
and envy none but those of the estate, six feet by two." 

How true is the language of the poet, and it is applicable 
to every unconverted sinner ; nor shall it ever be otherwise, 
till the soul finds rest in God : — 

" In all our plenty, something still, 
To thee, to me, to him is wanting ; 
That cruel something unpossessed, 
Corrodes and cankers all the rest. 
And even -while fashion's brightest arts decoy, 
The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy." 

The record of the experience of one now lies upon my 
table, who represents himself as the gayest of the gay, when 
mingling in the night scenes of revelry, fashion, and song; 
but in the midnight hour, when lighter hearts are lost in 
sleep, his depression is so great, that " this sweet oblivious 
antidote" flies from his couch. Morning comes, and the 
smile is assumed, and, like the expiring eagle, he covers his 
wounds by the wings of a fancied gayety. " There is not a 
blessing springs upon my path, but mildew covers it; nor 
a flower that blooms there, that does not wither and die. 
Although gray hairs have not silvered my head, yet my 
hopes are dead, and now in my prime, I must, it is most 
likely, sink to my grave, with an icy chilliness rife at my 
heart. 'My life is steered by misery's chart.' " 

" Thus, though the smiles of cheerfulness 
May hide from sight an aching heart, 
They cannot make its misery less, 
Nor bid the frown of fate depart. 
And though no tears bedew the eye, 
Nor outward signs of grief appear, 
The brain may burn without a sigh, 
The heart may break without a tear." 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 275 

As to the opinions of the physician, respecting Mr. * * *, 
it would be perhaps bold in me to contradict, but I shall take 
the liberty to transcribe a few thoughts of Mr. Wesley upon 
the subject, which you may let him see when convenient. 

" When physicians meet with disorders which they do not 
understand, they commonly term them nervous; a word that 
conveys to us no determinate idea, but is a good cover for 
learned ignorance. But these are often no natural disorders 
of the body, but the hand of Cfod upon the soul, being a 
dull consciousness of the want of God, and the unsatisfac- 
toriness of every thing here below. At other times, it is a 
conviction for sin, either in a higher or lower degree. It is 
no wonder that those who are strangers to religion should 
not know what to make of this ; and that consequently all 
their prescriptions should be useless, seeing they quite mistake 
the cause." 

As to amusements, I require to know to what kind you 
refer, in order to give an opinion. We should never indulge 
in any which would unfit us for taking pleasure in God, or 
from which we could not retire for private prayer, with a 
good conscience. An old divine says, " Like skilful mari- 
ners, we may make use of the side-wind of recreation, to 
help us toward the haven of rest." When a boy, and about 
to make a clever jump, I have often retired backward a few 
steps, in order to accelerate my velocity ; and frequently, 
the farther back I went, the more " way" I had upon me, 
as a sailor would express it, and strength and agility for the 
intended leap. I have many times returned to study with 
greater vigor, and to the bosom of my God with increased 
delight, after a short relaxation amidst the flowers of poetry, 
or those of the garden ; in music, in cheerful conversation 
with a few friends, a ramble through the fields and woods, 
a tug at the oar, or an hour in fellowship with the spade, 



276 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

the axe, or the hammer. A friend of mine has often said 
in my hearing, " Better wear out shoes than sheets. Exer- 
cise is a part of my religion ; I take it from principle, be- 
cause I am bound to take care of my body as well as my 
soul ; and I remember what Cicero says : ' For man is not 
chiselled out of the rock, nor hewn out of the oak ; he has a 
body, and he has a soul ; the one is actuated by the intellect, 
the other by the senses.' 

' Better gather health in fields, unbought, 
Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. 
The wise for cure on exercise depend ; 
God never made his work for man to mend.' " 

" A life of inaction," says a writer, " is a disuse of talents, 
and a perversion of intellect ; and our leisure days are the 
enemy's busy ones." I remember two proverbs, one used 
by the Turks, and the other by the Spaniards. " A busy 
man is troubled with but one devil, but the idle man with a 
thousand." " Men are usually tempted by the devil, bu , 
the idle man positively tempts the devil." 

" The idle man," says one, " soon becomes torpid, and 
resembles the Indian in his feelings, insensibly adopting his 
maxim : ' It is better to walk than to run, and better to 
stand still than to walk, and better to sit than to stand, and 
better to lie than to sit.' There are said to be pleasures to 
madmen, known only to madmen ; there are certainly mis- 
eries to the idle, which only the idle can conceive." 

" A -want of occupation is not rest ; 
A mind quite vacant is a mind distressed." 

His account of his labors is now again resumed. 

My labors are now nearly finished in this town. On the 
nights of the 5th, 6th, and 7th of April, 1 843, 1 preached 
farewell sermons in Great Homer street, Brunswick, and Pitt 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 277 



street chapels. Two of those nights, the rain came down in 
torrents, but this did not prevent the chapels from being 
crowded. 

This week has been a season of rest, with the exception 
of addresses delivered at two Missionary meetings. On both 
occasions, I had the honor of presenting several sums in gold, 
handed to me by the friends of Missions. 

The Wesleyan Methodists, English and Welsh, have seven 
principal chapels in town ; the Brunswick, Wesley, and Great 
Homer street, are the most elegant. Four of them are fur 
nished with handsome and fine-toned organs. That in Great 
Homer street I consider the sweetest and most powerful ; 
and full justice is done to the instrument, by the accom- 
plished organist. His ear seems to be acute for poetry as for 
music. It is sufficient for the officiating minister to emphasize 
a word, or line, in the verse, and I have seldom observed an 
absence of a corresponding expression in the music. 

The congregation appear to have more confidence in unit- 
ing with the organ than I have ever witnessed in any place 
of worship. The fife and soul he throws into the instrument 
allure or compel the people to sing. Such a state of things 
tends admirably to the liveliness and devotion of the audience : 
and it is desirable that every organist should endeavor to 
bear with a little inaccuracy or discord, now and then, for 
the sake of encouraging the congregation to unite heartily in 
this very important part of the worship of God. In this 
chapel, for the first time in my life, I have had fiber ty granted 
me to select any hymn in the book, for the service ; and 1 
assure you, I have luxuriated amidst some of the most sub- 
lime and beautiful poetry in the collection ; which, though 
often admired, I never before dared to offer in the sanctuary. 
Years ago, I copied the following fines from one of the poets, 
and sometimes in the course of my travels, have had them 
24 



278 CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 

delightfully realized ; but never as in the Great Homer street 
Wesleyan chapel, and throughout such a succession of 
services : — 

" The silenced preacher yields to potent strain, 
And feels that grace his prayer besought .in vain ; 
The blessing thrills through all the laboring throng, 
And heaven is won by violence of song." 

Of the final results of his labors in Liverpool, Mr. 

Caughey thus writes : — 

I spent five months in Liverpool, preached one hundred 
and twenty times, delivered five Temperance lectures, and a 
few Missionary speeches. From books kept by different sec- 
retaries, we learned that more than thirteen hundred persons 
found peace with God. I see, however, by a sermon on the 
revival, lately published by the Rev. John H. James, that 
he estimates the number at one thousand ; but in a private 
letter to me, he says the number is much understated, for pru- 
dential reasons. It is an eloquent and excellent production, 
and a masterly defence of the revival. About six hundred 
of the above were members of the Wesleyan church when 
they were converted. What the increase to the church is 
likely to be, I have not yet learned. 

The night previous to my leaving Liverpool, I had the 
pleasure of taking tea with about five hundred persons, in 
the school-room of Great Homer street chapel ; after which 
we adjourned to the chapel, where we had an excellent 
meeting. 

Twelve speakers, local preachers and leaders, had been 
appointed for the occasion, limited to ten minutes each. The 
Rev. Mr. Farrar occupied the chair. Several appropriate 
resolutions were placed in the hands of the persons referred 
to, for the adoption of the meeting. 

I was charmed with the "intelligence, good sense, and d> 



CLOSING LABORS IN LIVERPOOL. 279 



vine unction, by which the speeches were distinguished; 
some of them, too, were really eloquent. The effects must 
have been salutary, especially upon the minds of the young 
converts, many of whom were present. 

Your friend made the closing speech, but his emotions 
were too deep and powerful for him to find words readily to 
express himself. The kind address of Mr. Farrar, full of 
love, and the delicate and touching allusions of the brethren, 
were almost too much for his sensitive nature to sustain. The 
service closed by prayer, and singing that beautiful hymn in 

f your hymn-book — surprised not to find it in the Wesleyan 

" collection : — 

" O thou God of my salvation." 

j They had, however, a great many copies of it printed, and 
J set to a piece of music, called " Caughey." Mr. Ashton 
did it great justice with the powerful organ ; and th<5 congre- 
gation united as if they had been accustomed to it for years. 
The Lord has a precious people in Liverpool. Although 
I had many sore exercises of mind, while there, and was with 
rthem "in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling,' ' 
8((1 Cor. ii. 3,) they bore with me, and upheld me in the arms 
of faith and prayer. He also, who knew my weaknesses, 
f| provided me with pleasant homes at the houses of Mr. Fannin 
tand Mr. Banning, of whom mention was made in a former 
d letter. In the bosom of these amiable families, my drooping 
I mind was often cheered. The day I parted with them shall 
never be forgotten. 

" Friendship ! mysterious cement of the soul, 
Sweetener of life, and solder of society, 
I owe thee much : 

Thou hast deserved from me far, far beyond 
What I can e'er repay. 
Oft have I proved the labor of thy love, 
And the warm efforts of the gentle heart 
To please." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

No introduction seems necessary to this chapter unless we 
call on the spiritual reader to rejoice in God for the wonder- 
ful work it describes, or stimulate the minister who may 
peruse it to emulate Mr. Caughey's success. Let every min 
ister inquire, as he reads, why all of us who are called of 
God do not count our seals by thousands instead of by units ? 
Who ? Who is in fault ? Or is it not the will of God to 
grant the like measure of his Spirit to all ? Who can solve 
the interesting question ? 

On the 21st of April, 1843, 1 left Liverpool for Leeds, by 
railway, ninety miles, where I arrived at half past seven 
in the evening, and put up at the house of a kind friend, the 
Rev. William Lord, and received a cordial welcome. 

The evening after my arrival in Leeds, through the kind- 
ness of the Rev. William Lord, Superintendent of the Leeds 
First Circuit, I had the pleasure of taking tea with a few of 
the principal friends. All appeared to be deeply anxious for 
a revival of the work of God. My soul was much encour- 
aged by the congeniality of spirit I felt with these excellent 
persons. It was agreed that we should commence efforts for 
a revival in the Oxford Place chapel, which we did on the 
evening of the 23d of April, and concluded on the 5th of 
280 



GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 281 

May. During that time the congregations were small, and 
only about thirty persons professed to have found peace. A 
meeting of the preachers was then called, and the Superin- 
tendents of the four circuits, the Rev. Messrs. William 
Lord, William Kelk, Thomas Harris, Alexander Strachan, 
with their colleagues, met, and after much conversation upon 
the work of God, it was agreed that I should visit the circuits 
in succession, and spend two weeks in each. Although my 
judgment was averse to such hasty movements, having al- 
ways succeeded best in staying five or six weeks in a chapel, 
yet I gave up my will to surrounding counsellors, and our 
future proceedings were settled on the two weeks plan ; at 
least, until each of the circuits should have had a visitation. 
On the 7th of May, I opened my commission in St. Peter's 
chapel, (Third Circuit,) and in the evening of the same day, 
we found that twenty-nine sinners had been converted to God, 
tnehalf of whom were backsliders. The following evening 
the Rev. William Cattle preached a powerful sermon, and 
thirty-five found peace, through the blood of the Lamb ; 
many of these were members, who had long been groaning 
under condemnation for sin. We continued the meetings in 
this chapel with similar success till the 20th inst., when the to- 
tal number converted was two hundred and fifty ; of these, one 
hundred and twenty-eight were members, fifty-one backslid- 
ers, and the remaining seventy-three were from the world ; 
of these, many were from adjacent towns, so that the actual 
increase will be very small, but the amount of good to the 
church of God cannot be estimated. On Saturday night, 
the 21st inst., we held the usual band-meeting, in the Old 
St. Peter's chapel. You may not understand this distinction. 
There are two chapels now standing upon the same premises. 
The old one is a plain substantial brick building, with a gal- 
lery, on three sides, erected in Mr. Wesley's time : the new 
24* 



282 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

one, a few yards distant, is a commodious edifice of the same 
material, accommodates perhaps two thousand four hundred 
persons, but more than three thousand are sometimes within 
its walls. The old chapel has been unoccupied for several 
years, and many of the pews have been removed. Here the 
Wesleys and Fletcher often preached. 

This was the first Methodist chapel in Leeds ; and from 
the following account given by the Eev. Charles Wesley, of 
a fearful accident, in which he was involved with many others, 
such a place of worship was greatly needed at that time : "I 
met the brethren at Leeds, and many others, in an old upper 
room ; after singing, I shifted my place to draw them to the 
upper end. One desired me to come nearer the door, that 
they might hear without. I removed again, and drew the 
weight of the people after me. In that instant the floor 
sunk. I lost my senses, but recovered them in a moment, 
and was filled with power from above. I lifted up my head 
first, and saw the people under me, heaps upon heaps. I 
cried out, < Fear not ! The Lord is with us. Our lives are 
all safe ; and then, 

' Praise God from whom all blessings flow,' 

I lifted up the fallen as fast as I could, and perceived by 
their countenances which were our children; several of 
whom were hurt, but none killed. We found, when the 
dust and tumult were a little settled, that the rafters had 
broken off short, close by the main beam. A woman lay 
dangerously ill in a room below, on the opposite side, and a 
child in the cradle, just under the ruins. But the sick wo- 
man, calling the nurse a minute before, she carried the child 
with her to the standing side, and all three were preserved. 
Another of the society was moved, she knew not why, to go 
out with her child just before the room fell. Above one 



GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 283 

hundred lay with me among the wounded ; though I did not 
properly fall, but slid down softly, and lighted on my feet. 
My hand was bruised, and part of the skin rubbed off my 
head. One sister had her arm broken, and set immediately, 
rejoicing with joy unspeakable. Another, strong in faith, 
was so crushed that she expected instant death. I asked 
her, when she got to bed, whether she was not afraid to die. 
She answered that she was without fear, even when she 
thought her soul was departing ; and only said, in calm faith, 
4 Jesus, receive my spirit ! ' Her body continues full of pain, 
and her soul of love. A boy of eighteen was taken up, roar- 
ing, ' I will be good ! I will be good ! ' They got his leg 
set, which was broken in two places. He had come as usual to 
make disturbance, and struck several of the women going in, 
till one took him up stairs, for Providence to teach him better. 

" The news was soon spread through the town, and drew 
many to the place, who expressed their compassion by wish- 
ing all our necks had been broken. I preached out of the 
town in weariness and painfullness. The Lord was our strong 
consolation however ; and I more clearly see that a hair can- 
not fall to the ground without our heavenly Father." 

In the old sanctuary alluded to, Mr. Wesley held his twen- 
ty-fifth Annual Conference, in 1769 ; during which it was 
determined to send out preachers to America. The printed 
Minutes of that Conference now lie before me : — 

"Leeds, August 1, 1769. 

" Question 13. — We have a pressing call from our brethren 
in New York (who have built a preaching-house) to come 
over and help them. Who is willing to go ? 

" Answer. — Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor. 

" Question 14. — What can we do further in token of our 
brotherly love ? 



284 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

"Answer. — Let us make a collection among ourselves. 
This was immediately clone, and out of it £50 were allotted 
towards the payment of their debt, and about <£20 given to 
our brethren for their passage." 

Mr. Wesley says in his Journal: " Sunday, July 30, 1769, 
Mr. Crook being out of order, I read prayers and preached 
in Hunslet church,* both morning and afternoon. At five, I 
preached at Leeds, and on Monday, 31st, prepared all things 
for the ensuing Conference. Tuesday, 1st, it began, and a 
more loving one we never had. On Tuesday, I mentioned 
the case of our brethren in New York, who had built the first 
Methodist preaching-house in America, who were in great 
want of money, but much more of preachers." 

The part of the chapel where Boardman and Pilmoor 
stood, when they offered themselves for the service in Amer- 
ica, was pointed out to me to the right of the pulpit under the 
gallery. What interest do past events afford us when the 
results are fully unfolded ! At the time of the above Con- 
ference, the number of Methodists throughout Great Britain 
and Ireland did not much exceed 28,000. The infant society 
in America was too small to be worthy of notice. This was 
the entire of Methodism in the world. Now, America 
alone numbers one million of members — ministered unto by 
four thousand travelling preachers, besides four hundred su- 
peranuated or worn out preachers, and eight thousand local 
preachers. f Thus, Sir, you will perceive that the preachers 
alone of the Methodist Episcopal Church, are equal to the 
standing army of the United States ! — an event this that 
Mr. Wesley and the members of that Conference little antici- 
pated. The number of members in Great Britain and 

* A short walk from where I am now writing — Larchfield House, Hunslet 
; ane, near Leeds. 
f Their number since 1843 has considerably increased. 



GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 285 

Ireland, and in foreign stations, under the care of the British 
and Irish Wesleyan Conferences, is nearly half a million ; 
and about fifteen hundred and fifty efficient ministers, besides 
supernumerary and superannuated preachers. There are, 
besides, in Europe and America, not far short of half a 
million of Methodists under different titles ; such as Primi- 
tive Association, Independent, New Connexion, Canadian, 
and Protestant Methodists, etc. All these have their respect- 
ive ministers ; and though they differ in the mode of church 
government, they preach the same doctrines which Wesley 
taught, and are, I trust, aiming at the glory of God, the 
conversion of sinners, and the salvation of a lost world. 

It appears from the Minutes alluded to, that the name of 
Francis Asbury,* did not stand in the list of preachers in 
full connection, till the Conference of 1769, as also Richard 
Whatcoat. Their names are placed next each other. As- 
bury, it seems, was admitted on trial as a preacher in 1767, 
and was received into full connection in 1768. 

When Boardman and Pilmoor offered themselves for the 
American work, Asbury little thought what hard labors 
and exalted honors awaited him in that country. Pilmoor 
was admitted into full connection in 1766, in Leeds ; 
three years after, in the same place, he volunteered for 
America. 

It was not till the Bristol Conference, 1771, that Francis 
Asbury was appointed to the Western world. The twenty- 
sixth question on the Minutes of that Conference reads thus : 
" Our brethren in America call aloud for help. Who are 
willing to go over and help them ? Answer : Five are will- 
ing to go." The two appointed were Francis Asbury and 
Richard Wright. In the appointment of these servants of 
God, especially Asbury, how evident does it appear to ua 

* Afterwards Bishop Asbury. 



286 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

now, that Mr. Wesley and the preachers were influenced by 
the same spirit that directed the minds of the apostles, when 
Paul and Barnabas were separated from others, for the 
special work to which they were called by the Holy Ghost. 
Acts xiii. 2. Perhaps these remarks may lead you to pro- 
cure Asbury's Journal; if you have not seen it, I can 
recommend it with great pleasure. About ten years ago, I 
read it, and made the following entry in my Journal: " Au- 
gust 14th. Week before last I finished reading the second 
and third volumes of Asbury's Journal. My mind frequently 
paused in amaze while, I trust, it received lessons never to 
be forgotten. What a man of God ! He did the work of 
an evangelist indeed, and made full proof of his ministry. 
The continent was his circuit, and he travelled round it with 
the regularity of a Methodist preacher. After taking one 
of his tours, in which he had endured great hardships and 
suffered much pain, he learned that an old woman had been 
awakened and converted through his instrumentality; he 
exclaimed, ' Glory be to God ! I will take courage from this, 
and go round the continent again.' I have read Mr. Wes- 
ley's Journal with equal attention, and my conviction is, that 
what the latter was to Methodism in Great Britain and 
Ireland, such was the former to Methodism in America. 
Although Mr. Asbury suffered less from riotous mobs, and 
other persecutions, than did Mr. Wesley, yet he endured 
more from bad health, bad roads, bad beds, indifferent food, 
climbing mountains, fording rivers, together with the extremes 
of a rigorous climate, in traversing the wilderness of Amer- 
ica, till he was old and grayheaded, than the venerable 
founder of Methodism, when in his travels, itinerating through 
the more highly cultivated countries of England, Ireland, and 
Scotland. Add to these, the heavy responsibility of an epis- 
copacy, — the stationing of the preachers over such a wide 



GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. £87 

extent of territory, — presiding at all the annual confer- 
ences, — bearing the reproaches of some, and the murmur- 
ing of others, in the itinerancy ; and all this united for many 
years, with almost uninterrupted bad health, — I closed the 
last volume, saying, I doubt whether, since the days of tie 
Apostles, a man could be singled out who has labored so 
long and so hard, and endured so much without suffering 
martyrdom, as the Rev. Bishop Asbury." 

Pardon this long digression; but to return to the old 
chapel ; the Rev. Thomas Harris, Superintendent, partly to 
gratify me, and also to accommodate the unusual number 
expected to attend the Saturday night band-meeting, had 
the sacred spot prepared for our reception. I can scarcely 
describe my sensations, on taking my seat with the other 
ministers, and glancing round the venerable edifice. Mr. 
Wesley was fond of large pulpits ; this one is capable of 
holding seven or eight persons very comfortably. We had 
a noble assembly, many of them the choicest saints of God ; 
and this "holy house, " the birthplace of thousands now in 
glory, and where multitudes, low in the dust, worshipped in 
years gone by, was, once more, vocal with the praises of God 
and the loud hallelujahs of his people. 

Never before have I seen or heard so many witnesses for 
entire sanctification. The deep and rich experience of the 
fathers and mothers in Israel, who had long enjoyed this 
blessing, mingled with the ardent and decided testimonies 
of those who had been lately purified, more than eighty of 
whom, during the last two weeks, had experienced the bless 
edness of those who are pure in heart. Towards the close 
of the meeting, Mr. Harris, observing the intense feelings of 
those who were seeking purity, requested such to retire into 
an adjoining class-room, and that a few leaders would assist 
them in prayer. Many did so ; and between twenty and 



288 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

thirty obtained the blessing of a clean heart, while we con- 
tinued the service in the chapel. 

This is truly a great and glorious revival of holiness. If 
proper care be taken of these precious believers, and the 
blessing kept fully before the people from the pulpit, the 
entire church may soon be a leavened and holy people unto 
the Lord. Were the preachers, after these special services 
shall have ceased in the town, to appropriate one night in the 
week to preach expressly upon entire sanctification, it would 
greatly tend to this desirable result ; and those who have 
been made clean would then, it is most likely, be preserved. 
God sanctifies the people by belief of the truth, John xvii. 17, 
— truth clearly , pointedly ', and frequently preached. Wherv 
the pulpit is silent, or indistinct, or has long intervals upo& 
the doctrine of entire holiness, it is seldom you will find 
many clear on these " deep things of God," and few pro- 
fessing their reception. My soul has often paused, in holy 
awe and adoring wonder, in marking how closely the Holy 
Ghost attends with his blessing the frequent exhibition, from 
the pulpit, of this glorious privilege of all believers. I have 
observed, during this revival, that when justification has been 
the subject of discourse, few have professed sanctification ; , 
but invariably, when holiness has been the theme, many have 
been the witnesses of purity of heart. Whatever class c f 
truth, it would appear, is brought to bear upon a congregation, 
the Holy Spirit condescends to make that the medium of an 
according blessing. Perhaps it is on the same principle we 
can account for the fact, that in those congregations where 
justification by faith and the witness of the Spirit are not 
preached, few, if any, are raised up to testify that Jesus 
Christ hath power upon earth to forgive sins ; whereas, just 
the contrary takes place where these are clearly and fully 
preached. 



GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 289 

On Sabbath, 22d instant, we commenced a series of reli- 
gious services in the Wesley Chapel, (Fourth Leeds Circuit,) 
text, 1 Thess. v. 16 — 18. After service, I dined with the 
celebrated author of " The Village Blacksmith," the Rev. 
James Everett. He is a most agreeable man, full of good 
humor; a fine illustration of Prov. iii. 17. Pleased I am of 
having had an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with 
him. He resides in the city of York, and is here to preach 
special sermons in behalf of an institution belonging to a neigh- 
boring Wesleyan chapel. Has his Life of Dawson made its 
appearance in America ? It would be made a great blessing, 
I am sure, to the local preachers of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, and, indeed, to the regular ministry. If it has 
not yet been republished in the United States, you might 
make the suggestion to the Book Committee in New York, 

In the evening, to a large congregation, I cried, " How 
long halt ye between two opinions ? " Twenty-five persons 
decided for heaven, laid down their arms at the feet of Jesus, 
and obtained redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
of sins. 

I spent the last two weeks, most agreeably, at the house 
of Mr. Binder, of the St. Peter's Circuit, where I w r as hos- 
pitably entertained. At the mansion of Mr. Holdsworth, 
where I am at present, I enjoy every comfort that a Chris- 
tian could desire. The ministers of this circuit, the Rev. 
Alexander Strachan, Superintendent, and the Rev. Wilson 
Brailsford and Thomas Lewellyn, are exceedingly kind, and 
take a rejoicing interest in the revival. 

You desire my opinion in the case of * * * , and * * * . 
I consider them both in the extreme of that species of wrong 
which should be rectified if they desire to save their souls 
from perdition. To the first, I would say, let him see to it 
that his own soul is in a safe state, before he allow himself to 
25 



290 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

Indulge in such uncharitable and wholesale accusations. I 
frequently happens, that those who are constant in the cry, 
" "Woe, woe, woe to the church and her ministers, because 
they have fallen from God," are really in that state them- 
selves, and shall eventually share, unless they repent, in the 
same woes they have denounced against others. Josephus 
tells us of a man, afflicted in mind, near the time of the 
downfall of Jerusalem, who ran about the city, crying, "Woe 
to the city, woe to the temple, woe to the priests, woe to the 
people ; and, last of all, woe to myself! " at which words he 
was slain on the walls, by a stone out of a sling. I think it 
is Plutarch who says, " They who delight to gad abroad, for 
the most part have smoky, nasty, or dankish houses, or at 
least, ill rule and no content at home ; so when men range 
abroad, and play the spies and scouts, and pry into other 
men's actions, it is a sign that they have a foul house at 
home, and ill rule in their own conscience." I shall borrow 
the language of another, in speaking to the case of the 
second. " Emulation has been termed a spur to virtue, and 
assumes to be a spur of gold. But it is a spur composed of 
baser materials, and if tried in the furnace, will be found to 
want that fixedness which is the characteristic of gold. He 
that pursues virtue only to surpass others, is not far from 
wishing others less forward than himself; and he that rejoices 
too much at his own perfections, will be too little grieved 
over the defects of other men. We might also insist upon 
this, that true virtue, although the most humble of all things, 
is the most progressive ; it must persevere to the end. But, 
as Alexander scorned the Olympic games because there 
were no kings to contend with, so he that starts only to out- 
strip others will suspend his exertions when that is attained ; 
and self-love will, in many cases, incline him to sfcrp for the 
prize even before he has obtained the victory. But the 



GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 291 

views of the Christian are more extensive, and more endur- 
ing; his ambition is not to conquer others, but himself, and 
he unbuckles his armor only for his shroud. 

What you mention toward the close of your letter, I con- 
sider to be one of the most touching beauties of holiness ; to 
be enabled to aim at pleasing God in every thing, and to 
seek and find our first happiness in him. We may say of 
such a principle, as an old philosopher said of the soul, " It 
is in the whole body, and in every part of it." This is what 
our Lord meant by the single eye ; and when we have this 
singleness of intention, of pleasing him in all things, and 
purity of affection at all times, and in all places and circum- 
stances ; then our whole body shall be full of light. An old 
divine tells us, that holiness in our hearts should be as the 
lungs in our bodies, in continual motion ; and that holiness 
in our lives must run through all our words and conduct, as 
the woof through the whole web. 

Your ideas on hope, are plausible, perhaps sound ; but we 
must die to know. If such sentiments lead you to " a closer 
walk with God," and to be more entirely devoted to him, I 
can see no harm in indulging them ; but a poet, when speak- 
ing of heaven, says, — 

" Where hope, the sweet singer that gladdened the earth, 
Lies asleep on the bo6om of bliss." 

To this I know you will say, " Pretty, but not sound." 
Well, have your own way. 

The revival is still progressing with considerable power 
In my last, mention was made of the commencement of 
special services in Wesley chapel. I continued my efforts 
there two weeks, but was disabled part of the time from 
doing much by an obstinate hoarseness. The results were 
good, but more than the half of those converted at Wesley 
were members of society. There is evidently a great move 



292 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 

<: i 

in this town, but it is singularly confined to professors of 
religion under our observation. The report is brought 
weekly. The revival does not grapple with the people of 
the world to the extent that one would expect, and this 
discourages me. About fifty persons were converted, who 
were not members of society, (at Wesley chapel,) but, on 
looking over the list, I perceive twenty of these were from 
the country, several from other churches in town, and a few 
from the other Leeds circuits, so that the poor society at 
Wesley has been, I fear, but little improved as to numbers, 
but greatly so in piety, when we consider the conversion of 
so many of her backslidden and unconverted members. 

On SabSath morning, 4th of June, I opened my commis- 
sion in the Brunswick chapel, Leeds First Circuit. The 
Rev. William Kelk, Superintendent ; his colleagues are the 
Rev. Francis A. West and George T. Perks. Twenty 
souls were converted the first night. This is an elegant 
chapel, and a very intelligent and influential congregation. 
My labors among them have been hitherto with great satis- 
faction and comfort to my own mind. We have not wit- 
nessed a single pause in the revival. Sinners are converted, 
and believers sanctified daily ; but, on glancing at the secre- 
tary's book a short time since, I was amazed at the largeness 
of the list of members professing conversion ; and my troubled 
heart has exclaimed again and again, Why is this ? I should 
have told you, that to prevent exaggerated reports as well 
as to afford a clue to the residence of those who obtain salva- 
tion, we have a person appointed to converse immediately 
with those who profess conversion or sanctification. He has 
a book lined off into columns, and headed thus : Date, Name, 
Residence, Justification, Sanctification, In society, From the 
world, From other circuits, From other churches, Leader, 
Observations. By this sheet we know at the end of each 



JREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS. 293 

week the exact state of the work, so far at least aa the sub- 
jects of it have come before the leaders' meeting, and ar- 
rangements made to visit those persons at their houses who 
have promised to meet in class, or who may have requested a 
few days for consideration. The plan is excellent, but I am 
not able to inform you, as yet, how far it has been carried 
out. It is certainly no small task; for instance, on Sabbath, 
18th inst., one hundred persons professed justification, and 
forty-two sanctification ; now, allowing the half of those jus- 
tified to have been from the world, here is considerable labor 
immediately spread before the pastors and official members, 
as the result of one day. How great the responsibility ! 
When men cry to God for a revival, they little think, if grant- 
ed, the amount of care and labor it must bring in its train. 

On Saturday night last, we concluded the " protracted 
meeting " in the Brunswick chapel. A few evenings previous, 
we had a meeting for the new converts, similar to those I 
have described in other letters. We had a most gracious 
season. 

On Saturday night, in the band-meeting, the Rev. Mr. 
Kelk gave an account of the advancement of the work of 
God, during the last month of special services in Brunswick 
chapel. Documents were produced, from which it was as- 
certained, that during the above time, the total number pro- 
fessing to have obtained justification and sanctification were 
about six hundred. Two handred and forty-four of these 
were cases of sanctification. One hundred and fifty-six 
members of society justified, * and the remaining two hun- 
dred were sinners converted from the world. Upwards of 
fifty of the latter were from the country, and the rest distribu- 
ted among the four circuits in town, and other churches ; so 
that, comparatively, Brunswick will have but a small increase. 

* Romans v. 1. 

25* 



294 GREAT REVIVAL IN LEEDS, 

My heart is greatly attached to the society and congregation 
of B. They are a lovely people, and showed me much re- 
spect and kindness, as did their excellent ministers. My 
homes, at the hospitable mansions of Mr. Heigham, Mr. 
Smith, and Mr. Shann, where I am at present, have been 
every thing I could desire. You will see, therefore, that my 
stay on the circuit has been most agreeable. "0, to grace, 
how great a debtor ! " I believe no chapel within the claim 
of Methodism could produce a greater number of talented 
and devoted leaders than those which belong to the Bruns- 
wick chapel, Leeds. My drooping soul was often enlivened 
and warmed by their life and glowing zeal during the con- 
flict. I am sorry that they have received such a small in- 
crease; but the real good diffused throughout the entire 
society cannot be estimated by numbers. This revival was 
needed, and if they take the proper advantage of their pres- 
ent position, they shall see far greater things than these ; 
at least, were the revival efforts to be begun now at Bruns- 
wick, I should expect a mighty and glorious work. 

The ministers and leaders of the Oxford place chapel have 
given me a pressing invitation to spend a few weeks 
with them, which has been accepted. Yesterday morning, 
(Sabbath, July 2,) we commenced "special services " there. 
I enjoyed a good degree of liberty on Col. i. 1 9. In the af- 
ternoon, I assisted the Rev. Mr. West in the administration 
of the Lord's Supper, at Brunswick chapel. It was a gra- 
cious season, and the number of communicants unusually 
large. Returned to Oxford Place in the evening, and 
preached to (some say) four thousand people. Twenty-five 
sinners were converted to God. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

At Leeds, as elsewhere, Mr. Caughey found those who 
could not endure his apostolic simplicity and faithfulness. 
They were wounded sorely. Some of them vented their 
anger in letters addressed to the offending preacher. To 
some of these letters Mr. C. replied. I have inserted enough 
of his answers to make a chapter. The reader will agree with 
me that it furnishes a model of faithful dealing with offended 
hearers. Any minister having such hearers may benefit 
them by calling their attention to these pointed appeals and 
reasonings. 

It is not the first time I have been called a " fool," and 
designated by other kindred epithets ; but it seems the fool 
has drawn your portrait " to the life." I am not at all sur- 
prised that you are displeased. Had it been otherwise, I 
should have suspected myself a flatterer. A few months 
previous to my leaving America, I was requested to sit for 
my portrait ; and deprecating that which you prefer, I charged 
the artist to delineate my coarse features on the canvass as 
they were, without one hue or lineament of flattery. When 
busily engaged in his art, I inquired whether people were 
not sometimes vexed with him about their pictures. He un- 
derstood me. " yes ! but I endeavor to avoid that." 
" By what means ? " " Sir, I can readily discern from 

295 



296 THE OFFENDED HEAREK. 

the individual who sits, whether he would prefer the portrait 
more handsome than himself; then, Sir, I natter a little ; but 
when I discover that my subject desires a fac-simile of him- 
self, I am at it in truth and honesty. Such are never of- 
fended." Ah ! I thought, this may do for a portrait-paint- 
er, but not for a minister of Christ. The portrait may not 
affect the eternal interests of the painter or his friend ; but it 
is quite a different thing, when the features of a hearer's heart 
and morals are portrayed. " You paint well." Thank you 
for the compliment. " What master did you study under ? " 
Ask your conscience ; but ere you lifted the pen, it gave the 
answer. 

" Your nourishes and figures, your flowers and hell-fire 
images of terror, and noisy uproar, are a strange and harm- 
less compound." Ay, if they are only painted they will burn 
nobody. Who was ever burned by painted fire ? I have 
seen the thing exquisitely managed, so as to deceive the eye, 
but never the touch; but this "highly-colored" fire has 
scorched you. How is this ? There must have been some- 
thing more than paint. I have looked upon lions, (these 
are " images of terror,") sculptured in marble, stamped on 
paper, and carved in wood, well-proportioned, and skilfully 
colored ; but they neither roared nor devoured. So far from 
exciting terror, I have amused myself watching the little 
birds hopping into their open mouths, and playing among 
their teeth. Have not my " images of terror " had quite a 
different effect upon you ? Why this ill humor ? Why de- 
clare you will never hear me again? Why, unless the 
imagery represented realities of a terrible nature, in which 
you believed, and for which you felt yourself totally unpre- 
pared ? " The lion hath roared, who will not fear ? The 
Lord hath spoken, who can but prophesy ? " Amos iii. 8. 
A glow-worm resembles fire ; but it is light without heat 



THE OFFENDED HEARER. 297 

God asks, " Is not my word like fire ? and like a hammer, 
to break the rock in pieces ? " Jer. xxiii. 29. And now, 
respecting the " noisy uproar " which has thrown you into 
this consternation : — the other day, while walking on Wood- 
house Moor, during the drilling of a regiment, the quick dis- 
charge of mast "try suggested " images of terror ; " but 
not quite so awful as those you had of hell and its flames the 
other night. These were but the imagery of the battle-field, 
wet with life's red current, covered with the dead and the 
dying, — " hail of iron, and the rain of blood," driven on by 
men nerved for deeds of death. Nonsense ! The whole was 
as harmless as a parcel of boys cracking whips. None were 
wounded, none frightened ; all were highly delighted. " We 
go through blank motions here," said an old soldier to me, 
" for we only use powder ; this will do no execution, you 
know." Had the guns been loaded with ball or shot, and 
discharged among the spectators, how many hundreds would 
have scampered from off the common, as did multitudes from 
Oxford Place chapel, on Sabbath night, after sermon ! How 
many would have been left on the ground, to weep over their 
wounds ! Lives there a man in Leeds, with a heart so hard, 
as to rail against their cries for surgical aid ? What an ex- 
citement too would have taken place in the town ! Remon- 
strances from all quarters, quite as violent as those in your 
letter. Showing what? That there was something more 
penetrating than "noise" on the Woodhouse Moor. 

There were no "blank motions" on the night in question, nor 
any harmless artillery. There was more than flashing, noisy 
" powder." The sermon was charged with the truth of God, 
and levelled, and fired among thousands. You stayed long 
enough to see the slain of the Lord, for they were many, and 
to hear their cries. Why did you fly, when you yourself 
were wounded ? We had a Physician there, who healed 



"y5 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

scores, nor would he have rejected you, had you thrown away 
your weapons and sought his healing power. 

You have helped me to a good idea. A painter begins with 
the head. The drapery is a mere circumstance, with which 
any daub may succeed. The head shows the master. Let 
him hit the countenance well, or as some have it, " the ex- 
pression," and there is little difficulty with the rest. Some 
sermons are like drapery in painting, they will suit any body ; 
often there is neither head nor face, so that all feel he means 
nobody. 9 Frequently the countenances are so numerous, 
that every one may be meant, which, as any effect upon a 
congregation may be equivalent to nothing ; and ex nihilo 
nihil jit, " of nothing comes nothing." In a crowd there is 
obscurity, and none get their "feelings hurt" by a mortify- 
ing view of their own likeness. When this occurs by design 
to avoid giving offence, there is guilt. When it arises from 
incapacity for this kind of distinct and sinner-awakening 
preaching, then should the preacher inquire, whether that 
awful passage be not applicable to his case. Jer. xxiii. 
30 — 32. 

It requires a skilful mind to portray the true features of 
an individual character, so as to compel him to cry out, 
"Name me." But I carry the idea farther than the visible 
appearance of his morals. The "inner man" lies beyond 
the art of the limner, though within the vision of the Chris- 
tian minister. He must delineate the lineaments of the 
mind, and the aspects and moral coloring of the heart. If 
he have studied under the Great Master, he can sketch, by 
a spiritual discernment, " the thoughts and intents of the 
heart." How far the " madman" has succeeded with your 
picture, you yourself have determined. 

" I have made up my mind to hear you no more. You 
shall never have a chance to insult me again." You re- 



THE OFFENDED HEARER. 299 

snnd me of a gentleman who came into the Wesleyan 
Methodist chapel, in Quebec, during the sermon. He was 
just walking down the aisle, seeking a seat, when I was ut- 
tering the following sentence, with strong emphasis, and with- 
out the least reference to him, (in fact, I had never seen the 
man before,) "Sinner! what brought you here, sinner?" 
He turned on his heel in great indignation, saying, " I did 
not come here to be insulted ; " and made his exit. 

" You may call this preaching, and the fools who are with 
you ; I do not ; it is mere burlesque." Be it so, I cannot 
help it. Allow me however, to say, you do not seem to re- 
semble the sinner described by St. James i. 23, 24. The 
gospel was the glass into which he had looked. It reflected 
his deformed features, and he knew the likeness to be his own ; 
but, upon withdrawing from the unflattering mirror, he im- 
mediately lost the impression, and forgot his ugliness. Rath- 
er, you may be compared to a certain lady in high life, who 
was mortified with the conviction that she possessed a set of 
uncomely features. Being asked on a certain day, why she 
never turned when passing the mirror, as every body else did ; 
she gave to the rude question the candid reply : " I have too 
much self-love to bear the sight of my own ugliness." Why 
not thus speak out the sentiments of your heart at once, and 
have done with it ? Several years ago, I conversed with an 
old man, in the State of Vermont, who had been a fine look- 
ing person in his day, but time had dotted his face very un- 
handsomely. He told me he could not bear to look into a 
mirror, and that he had not done so during twenty-five years. 
The application to yourself is plain, although it appears you 
do not neglect the house of God. Why despise the gospel- 
glass, or your humble servant who held it before you ? 
N either is to blame that you have not had a more comely 
reflection of your visage. Is there a deformed person in 



300 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

the nation, unless " out of his head," who would fall into a 
fit of anger with the honesty of his mirror ? We generally 
esteem these useful articles in proportion as they are true to 
nature. But I forgot the decision of the poet : — 

H You vent your spleen as monkeys, when they pass, 
Scratch at the mimic monkey in the glass, 
While both are one : " 

Notwithstanding your ill humor, I shall attempt to neutral- 
ize it by the following striking illustration: I heard the 
account stated as a reality in a country through which I was 
travelling, and under circumstances, too, which would forbid 
the relation of a fable as a fact, although it seems scarcely 
credible. In the depths of an American forest there lived 
a man brought up in ignorance, poverty, and hard labor. 
His neighbors were similarly circumstanced. All were entire 
strangers to the comforts of civilized life. He was a black- 
smith by trade, and black as the coal necessary to his 
business, and as rough too as the neighboring wolf. His 
wife made a pilgrimage on a certain day to a distant town, 
and ventured to purchase that wonderful thing, a looking- 
glass. She brought it home, suspended it upon the wall 
without informing her husband of the curiosity. Coming in 
from the shop a little after, he saw a strange looking being, 
resembling the very devil himself, peering at him, through 
what he considered a new hole in his log house — his own 
likeness in the glass. Not a word did he speak, but ran to 
the shop, seized a sledge-hammer, and glided softly back. 
Peeping cautiously in at the door, the horrible figure saluted 
him on the opposite wall of the room. It was no time to 
give way, his house was invaded, and the man who would 
not shrink from contending with a bear in the forest, was not 
now to stand aghast at the ugly creature before him, be he 
man or devil; so he raised the hammer, it did the same ; ho 



THE OFFENDED HEARER. 301 

sprang, and it sprang * and the looking-glass was shivered to 
atoms in a moment. He saw his mistake too late to save his 
wife's feelings or the mirror; the latter lying scattered 
around him in fragments. 

Take another case. Three or four weeks ago, I saw in a 
London paper the following, headed, "An egregious fool." 
It was a late police report, and a fact ; the court of justice 
and London magistrate were mentioned, with a full account 
of the trial. The defendant, an Irish laborer, had been sent 
that morning to make some necessary repairs in a certain 
mansion. The plaintiff, a Mr. Jennings, stated that while 
watching the man, (as he otherwise could not have believed 
any man could have been such a fool,) he glanced around, 
and seeing in the room in which he was working, his reflec- 
tion in a large looking-glass door, exclaimed, " Arrah ! by 
St. Patrick, my masther told me he only sent one man, and 
there's another ; and he's got my hammer ; I'll have a shy 
at him." And suiting the action to the word, he smashed 
the imaginary personage and the glass at the same time. 
The defendant's plea was, that he had just been put on the 
job, as he expected, by himself; but seeing the other fellow 
looking at him, he struck against the glass ; and that he 
could assure his majesty, (the magistrate,) that he thought 
it was another workman, who had " taken the job over his 
head," and that he was so enraged at him, thinking at the 
same time that he had stolen his hammer, that he struck at 
him, and ruined the glass. The article was valued at <£10 ; 
but, in mercy to the poor fellow, it was only laid at <£5. 
After having been locked up a few hours, he was liberated 
on the complainant's accepting the wife's promise to pay the 
amount, at five shillings per week. 

You have some sense left, and I shall not insult it by 
assisting you to make the very evident application. " As I 
26 



302 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

said before, I will hear yon no more." To this I reply: 
Some people get into hell wounded in the back, flying from 
the truth ; and others go into hell with a crash, fighting 
against the truth, and carrying their wounds in front. Which 
go the deepest into perdition, eternity must show. It seems 
you intend to be wounded behind ; perhaps you think there 
are scars sufficient before. Remember you cannot escape 
from yourself, nor from principles which have made a lodg- 
ment within you; nor from a "judgment" that shall dog 
your steps through life, and overtake you in your last hours: 

" While conscience, unrelenting, still maintains 
Her right to raise new fears, and cause new pains." 

Make no rash vows. Leave yourself free. Many take 
much pains to attain a position, only to prepare themselves 
for a plunge into worse troubles ; as an Italian would say 
Cadar dalla padella nella brace, — equivalent to falling from 
Scylla into Charybdis. Beware lest that come upon you 
predicted by an old divine : " For if thou shuttest the win- 
dows of thine eyes from reading, and the doors of thine ears 
from hearing, God may clap such a padlock of a judicial 
curse upon them both, that thou shalt never open thine eyes 
or ears, till thou comest, as the rich glutton, to see Abraham 
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom ; and bear a part in those 
dreadful screechings and howlings which are in hell ! " You 
say, " I prefer my former views and ease of mind ; it is 
impossible for me to see as you see," etc. No ! nor are 
you ignorant of the reason ! The name of that great philos- 
opher, Galileo, is familiar to you. If he was not the inventor 
of the telescope, you are aware he improved it ; and ren- 
dered essential service to the cause of science when he 
made the instrument subservient to astronomical observa- 
tions. But do you remember the story of a Florentine phi- 
losopher, who eould not be persuaded to look through one of 



THE OFFENDED HEARER. 303 

Galileo's telescopes, lest he should see something in the 
heavens that would disturb his belief in Aristotle's philoso- 
phy ? The scriptural telescope of faith is a great disturber 
of the peace when put before the vision of a man living 
in sin! 

" I have hell enough in this life." I shall not dispute 
with you about that ; but should not this satisfy you ? " Pant 
ye after the second death V 9 What is hell upon earth ? Is it 
any thing else than a foretaste of the torments of the damned ? 
What is the " bottomless pit " mentioned in Revelation ? 
What, but the eternal sinking of the soul from God ? Hell, 
then, most assuredly begins in this world ; and the mouth 
of the pit opens wide in time. Every unconverted sinner is 
•within the circumference of the pit. " A wicked man," 
says one, "is a candidate for nothing but hell;" and, says 
another, "Hell is the centre of every sinner's gravity." 
These are facts ; and there is no standing still. The motions 
of a sinner downward are as steady as the weights in a 
clock. Such things go down slowly, but surely, by the 
ordinary revolutions of the time-piece ; or the cord may 
break, and they fall at once. Time is connected with what 
the Holy Ghost calls the " silver cord " — human life ; and 
a brittle affair it is. There is no law in nature more steady 
than the progress of a sinner to his horrible centre ; but the 
cord may be severed by an accident, or by the friction of its 
own workings ; or by the stroke of God, Job xxxvi. 18 ; 
and thus you may drop into an eternal hell at once. Many 
sinners, on their death-bed, have confessed themselves on 
the brink of hell ; but you admit yourself already in hell. 
And does not this illustrate my sentiment ? If the sinner 
be within the circumference of the pit, he must be troubled 
with its smoke ; and this is hell upon earth. Smoke is some- 
times hot, but never so intense as the flames from which it 



304 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

proceeds ; but there is just such a difference between the 
aell upon earth and that in eternity. 

I can only reply to the other epithets you have lavished 
upon me, the old Latin proverb, the translation of which 
runs thus : " Growing mad against the remedy of our 
madness ! " 

These frequent appeals appear to have brought his offended 
hearer to a more reasonable state of mind. Hence the 
milder tone of the next paragraphs. 

" The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of 
God." I am glad you are better pleased with me ; but J 
have no wish you should be any less displeased with yourself, 
until you become a better man. " I thought it so monstrously 
ridiculous." But it seems you were led to suppose that the 
ridiculous monster was yourself. "It was so unnatural — 
so out of all character." And yet you said in your heart, 
" He means me." How could you think so, unless there 
were some lineaments in the monster strikingly like yourself? 
" It is easy," said a man, who understood the matter well, 
" to know a picture well drawn, if we are acquainted with 
the person whom it represents." This is a very good crite- 
rion to apply to the present subject. If nature had been 
wholly avoided, or misrepresented, you could no more have 
thought the distorted figure was your own, than if I had 
been describing the devil himself. A witty writer has some 
where remarked, that he who studies life, yet bungles, may 
draw some faint imitations of it; but he who purposely 
avoids nature, must fall into the grotesque, and make no 
likeness. In this case, I have you for a witness, that, how- 
ever bunglingly nature was imitated, the likeness has been 
recognized by one of the most competent of judges. 

I have read a remark to this effect, that the picture is 



THE OFFENDED HEARER. 305 

well drawn which looks at all who look at it. It seems the 
picture looked on you, at any rate ; and you were simple 
enough to imagine that it not only looked at you, but looked 
like you. 

" You are not so morose a being as I thought you were, 
nor so stiff. I wish you success among the Leedites ; I shall 
come to hear you as often as I can while I remain in town." 
I care little for your opinion about me, unless it lead to your 
conversion. It is pleasing, however, to learn you have 
altered your mind. II sabio muda conscio, il nescio no, said 
the Spaniard :"A wise man changes his mind, a fool never." 
If the truth be heard in the love of it, your heart may be 
softened into penitence, which is the forerunner of salvation. 
Till sin is hated and abandoned, I fear you will hear to little 
advantage ; but as faith cometh by hearing, — come ! " Now 
that you know my views and state of mind, I expect a kinder 
method, and less severity." I am afraid you will be greatly 
disappointed, unless a change take place in your morals. 
Even then, without regeneration, you will still be disgusted 
with your own likeness, and dissatisfied with the preacher. 
Allow me to illustrate what I mean. In a work entitled The 
last year in China, we have some excellent remarks on 
Chinese portrait-painters ; showing that they have not learned 
the art of flattery, although they make excellent likenesses. 
The author relates the following anecdote, in proof: A lady 
of Macao, was having her portrait drawn by a Chinese artist. 
As the work proceeded, she expressed her strong dissatisfac- 
tion at the performance. " 'Spose," said the painter, " you 
smile a little, he look better." But it was in vain; for 
when the picture was done, the indignation of the fair one 
was so great, and so disagreeably expressed, that the irri- 
tated artist exclaimed, " If handsome face no got, how hand- 
some face can make ? " The writer remarked, that he 
26* 



306 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

thought an English artist could have shown the honest Chi 
nese out of his difficulty — that a golden application would 
have removed his scruples. Perhaps not. Respect for hi? 
profession, or homage to the stern demands of principle, 
might have rendered his mind as obstinate toward Mammon, 
as to the displeasure of the good lady. 

I shall be glad to see you again in the house of God. 
Remember, however, that painters only make a rude draught 
of the face at first ; succeeding touches bring out the fea- 
tures more perfectly. If the minister be " a workman that 
needeth not to be ashamed," like a clever artist, he will not 
throw down his spiritual pencil till the picture is in such a 
state as to render it impossible to mistake the person repre- 
sented. Nor will he stop here ; what no painter would do 
with a finished picture, he will — hew it in pieces, as Samuel 
did Agag before the Lord. Take heed ; some of the slashes 
of "the sword of the Spirit" may reach beyond your por- 
trait, " piercing, even to the dividing asunder of soul and 
spirit ; and of the joints and marrow." Heb. iv. 12. The 
following verse has long been my motto : 

" Brandish in full faith, till then, 
The Spirit's two-edged sword, 
Hew all the snares of fiends and men 
In pieces with the word; 
"Tis written,' thus applied, 
Baffles all strength and art ; 
Spirit and soul, with this divide, 
And joints and marrow part." 

Another letter commences with the next paragraph, and 
indicates that the offended hearer was yielding still more to 
the faithful application of truth. 

You are certainly an awakened sinner, whatever you may 
say to the contrary. In this state of mind, " the smallest 
dungs can give your sins a twitch." Had you lived in the 



THE OFFENDED HEAREE. 307 

days of Aaron the high priest, and with such a consciencf 
as you have now, it would have interpreted the tinkling of 
the bells on the borders of his garment, into an " unmannerly 
personality." 

You say, " This could never have happened by 

chance ; somebody has put you up to it." But have you 
never read of one Appelles, who failed, as often as he tried, 
to paint the foaming of a horse ? At last, in a rage, he 
flung his brush at the painting, and "chance" expressed 
that which art could not. In your case, I deny that any 
person has given me the information in question, as firmly 
as I reject the power of " chance." The eye of a heavenly 
witness rests upon you and your sins. God, who has called 
me to preach his gospel, suggested to me suitable matter by 
his Holy Spirit. I lay claim, however, to no higher inspira- 
tion than what any minister of Christ may have, who walks 
closely with God, and who has one desire and one aim. 

"And if I turn to God, will that mend the affair? You 
said, ' Sinner, God will cut you down.' " I did say so, but 
added immediately, "Your speedy repentance will be a 
lengthening of your tranquillity." Did not Jonah, at last, 
obey the Lord, in delivering the warning to the people of 
Nineveh ? But one day's journey on the walls was sufficient. 
As he walked, crying, " Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall 
be overthrown ; " they heard the voice, as if it had come 
from heaven, and turned every one of them from their iniqui- 
ties. Forty days passed away, and the city continued in its 
grandeur. There was a condition in the sentence. Their 
unfeigned repentance rendered the prediction void. " new, 
and admirable thing!" says a good man; "the denunciation 
of death brought forth life ; the prophesy of the overthrow 
overthrew the prophecy ; the sentence of destruction made 
a nullity in the sentence." 



308 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

I cannot conclude without referring to one or two of your 
closing sentiments. It is wrong in you to suppose, that what 
you feel, is a sample of a religious life- ; and yet many mis- 
take here. A very excellent man told me, in Dublin, that, 
when an awakened sinner, he was greatly buffeted by the 
devil on this point. It was represented to his mind, " This 
is religion ; and are you prepared to exchange a life of 
gayety and pleasure for these moping, miserable feelings ? 
This is a religious life." He met the temptation thus : " I 
am conscious of real misery, and if I set out for heaven, I 
may have seventy years of it ; but then, after death, I shall 
be eternally happy. On the other hand, if I neglect religion, 
I may possibly enjoy seventy years' happiness ; but .this 
must be succeeded by an eternity of torment. Which, then, 
will be the most profitable to me, in the long run ? Un- 
questionably, seventy years' wretchedness, followed by an 
eternity of pleasure and delight." From that moment, he 
bade farewell to sin and the devil forever, without a single 
idea of the comforts of experimental religion ; as if Chris- 
tianity were designed to strip him of every source of gratifi- 
cation, and render his desolate soul void of any enjoyment, 
other than the anticipations of the rewards of heaven. 
But a happier man than this same individual I have not met 
throughout my travels. 

The saying of Origen is worthy of notice : " It is the 
manner of Scripture to begin with those things which are 
sad and dreadful, and to end with those things which are 
cheerful and comfortable. ' I will kill and make alive ; not, 
' 1 will make alive and kill.' " I am much mistaken, if you 
are not now drinking the " wormwood and the gall ; " but 
there is a great difference between that and the " cup of 
salvation." The paths of repentance are sad and thorny ; 
but the ways of religion " are ways of pleasantness, and all 



TI1E OFFENDED HEARER. 309 

her paths are peace." I cannot agree with you, that an es- 
cape from sin, and from pursuing temptation, is impossible. 
Think of your soul, its value, its cost. Think of the agonies 
and blood of Jesus Christ ; aye, and the horrors of hell. 
Cast these reflections between you and your sins. 

I was reading the other day of an ancient general, who 
showed great skill in conducting the retreat of his army. 
The enemy pressed him sore ; and, at a time when all was in 
jeopardy, he marched rapidly through a narrow pass, between 
mountains, and then fining it with the branches of trees, set 
fire to them. The flames ascended like a wall of fire be- 
tween him and his foes, and thus he secured his retreat. 
Throw hell-fire between you and your sins : " Escape for thy 
life," sinner ; " tarry not in all the plain." 

" Pursue, on knowledge bent, the pathless road, 
And pierce, through infinite, in quest of God." 

Remember, every other avenue to God is closed, but one, 
" The new and living way," opened by the death of Jesus 
Christ. There is no access but by this way. The law of God, 
" like a two-edged sword," turning every way, will smite 
you into hell, if you dare to force an approach. " Come 
unto God by him," and " enter into the holiest by the blood 
of Jesus ; " receiving, upon your entrance, " remission of 
sins, through faith in his blood." 

Attend to it in time ; perhaps when you would, it may be 
too late. Only a few days ago I was reading of a man who 
had long neglected the house of God, his worship and his 
word. Sitting by his own fire, one Sabbath, with his family, 
he said, " I shall read a chapter in the Bible, as I have not 
done so for a long time." It was too late ; while in the act 
of reaching for the Bible, he sunk down, and immediately 
expired. When in the south of Ireland, about nine months 



310 THE OFFENDED HEARER. 

ago, a zealous servant of God related to me the following 
affecting circumstance : — 

He had been on a visit to a certain town, for benevolent 
purposes, and intended to hold a meeting on the Sabbath for 
the conversion of sinners. On the Saturday previous, Prov- 
idence cast in his way an ungodly sinner. He talked with 
him respecting his soul, but the man treated every thing 
with great levity. When my friend was about to take leave, 
he said, with much mirth, "I am likely to live as long 
as you. I could match you in a walk of ten miles any 
day." " Well," replied the other, on a sudden impression, 
but without the least degree of resentment, " this is your 
day of mercy, to-morrow may be God's day of judgment." 
He then asked him, whether he would come to the chapel 
next day, and hear such truth as might be made a blessing 
to him ? In a somewhat merry mood, he replied, " I shall 
come." Accordingly, on the Sabbath, he followed the man 
of God to the meeting, and when within a few yards of the 
place, he dropped down, and was dead in a few moments. 
That night, in the same room where his corpse lay, my friend 
held a meeting for the benefit of the living. How often is 
the sentiment of a German poet verified ! — 

With noiseless tread, death steals on man, 

No plea, no prayer, delivers him ; 

From the midst of busy life's unfinished plan, 

With sudden hand it severs him. 

Ready, or not ready — no delay, 

Forth to his Judge's bar, he must away." 

Adieu. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

In the seventeenth chapter, we left Mr. Caughey at the 
close of his first round of visits to the various chapels in 
Leeds. Having taken a glance at him in his dealings with 
the offended hearer, we now follow him once more into the 
scenes of his more active labors. It appears that, after 
going round the Leeds circuit and spending about two weeks 
in each chapel, he returned, first to the Oxford street chapel, 
and then to St. Peter's, preaching several weeks in each, 
J with " signs following." 

Before describing these latter labors, he favors us with 
some account of his rambles around Leeds. His visit to 
Cross Hall, and to the tomb of the heroic John Nelson, will 
afford the pious reader great pleasure ; since every remin- 
iscence of the holy dead is a pearl of price to a spiritual 
mind. The letters which compose this chapter were ad- 
dressed to an American friend. 

A few weeks since, in company with the family of Thomas 
Shann, Esq., I rode out to Cross Hall, a few miles from 
Leeds, formerly the residence of Mrs. Fletcher. Five years 
ago, when we derived so much benefit to our souls from a 
perusal of her Memoirs, we little thought that I should ever 

311 



312 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

pay a visit to the very spot where these events transpired, 
which then afforded us so much interest and pleasure. 

The house is a square, substantial, two-story building, of 
cream-colored stones, situated a short distance from the road, 
shaded with trees, and a fine garden behind. Mrs. F. built 
this immediately after she came to Yorkshire. The old hall 
is attached to it ; a low, venerable edifice, over the door of 
which we read, 1712. The family who now occupy the 
mansion, on learning who we were, and our errand, kindly 
gave us permission to walk through the house. I can scarcely 
express to you the emotion which filled my heart when pass- 
ing from room to room, each one hallowed by the presence 
of this holy woman of God. Ah ! I thought, here, during 
fourteen years, she spent many happy as well as many sor- 
rowful hours. Here the deepest night brooded over all her 
temporal prospects. In this i place she trusted in God, and 
was delivered ; for here it was that day dawned upon her 
dark, dark night. Through these rooms, or along those gar- 
den walks, did she often meditate upon and conflict with an 
impression, which bears the tinge of romance, but which was 
evidently of God. 

" Hide it my heart, "within that close disguise, 
Where mixed -with God's, his loved idea lies." 

This is the spot where she endeavored to break or strengthen 
that mysterious link which strangely bound her spirit to that 
eminent servant of Christ, the seraphic Fletcher. Resolving 
to await the dawning of that day in her earthly history, which 
for many years she had foreseen, as by prophetic vision ; 
here she often mournfully exclaimed, in faith's darkest hour, 

M Darkly safe with God, my soul 
His arm still onward bears, 
Till through each tempest on the whole, 
A peace divine appears." 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. S13 

Or, in the more triumphant language of another poet : — 

" The Lord my pasture shall prepare, 
And feed me with a shepherd's care ; 
His presence shall my wants supply, 
And guard me with a watchful eye ; 
My noonday walks he shall attend, 
And all my midnight hours defend." 

That promise also was her stay, which she received from 
God at Laytonstone : " Thou shalt lay up gold as dust, and the 
gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks ; yea, the Almighty 
shall be thy defence, and thou ehalt have plenty of silver," 
Job xxii. 24, 25 ; and commented upon them thus : " What 
I understand by these words is, that a time shall come when 
I shall owe no man any thing, and have plenty to carry on 
such designs as the Lord shall lay on my heart, for his 
glory ; that he will bring me out of this place, and provide 
some way for every member to be removed, so that I shall 
say, 'Now is fulfilled that word,' 'Thou shalt decree a 
thing, and it shall be established unto thee, and light shall 
shine on thy path.' " 

Here her faith seemed to receive a death blow in the sad 
intelligence, that the object of her hope was dying at Made- 
ley ; and again, that he was about to leave England, perhaps 
for ever, the blood draining from his lungs day by day ; 
still faith flourished again, and failed not, but prompted her 
to ask and believe for the following signs, which were fulfilled 
to the letter, four years afterwards : First, That Mr. Fletcher 
might be raised up again. Second, And brought back to 
England. Third, That he would write to her upon the sub- 
ject, though they had been so many years asunder, and not 
so much as a message passing between them upon any sub- 
ject. Fourth, That in that letter, he would state the matter, 
as having rested upon his mind for several years. This 
27 



S14 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

prayer of faith was instantly attended with the assurance 
that all this would occur in the year 1781. 

With the singular coincidences you are familiar. On the 
8th of June, 1781, as she expresses it, "the cloud arose, 
little as a human hand," in the form of a letter, from the 
object of her affections, which was soon after followed by Mr. 
Fletcher himself. Here they talked over all the providences 
through which they had been led ; tried to penetrate the 
gloom which still hung over her temporal affairs ; but that 
God, who had so strangely brought them together, com- 
manded the darkness into light, and in the neighboring 
church of Batley, "We covenanted," says Mrs. F., "in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost, to bear each other's burdens, and to become one 
for ever." 

With the history of her orphan establishment, her zeal for 
God, and activity in his cause, her holy life and godly con- 
versation, her Memoirs have made you already familiar ; 
and I doubt not, that on my return to America, we shall 
read them over again, with renewed pleasure, and I shall 
then tell you more than I can crowd into a letter. After 
visiting the apartment she had fitted up as a chapel for her 
orphans, we returned to Leeds. 

In company with a friend, I rode over to Batley church 
the other day, and stood before the same altar where they 
were married. The vicar was very kind, conducting us 
through various parts of the old sanctuary, in which were 
some very ancient monuments, and afterwards into the ves 
try. After a tedious search, he found the entry of their 
marriage, in one of the church records, signed first by the 
curate, and then by the parties, thus : " John William 
Fletcher, or De la Fletchere," and underneath, in her own 
peculiar hand, " Mary Bosanquet ; " the witnesses were a 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 315 

" Miss Tripp," and some other persons whose names I did 
not copy. 

A few days ago, with a small party, I visited the village 
of Birstal, about seven miles from Leeds. Our principal 
object was to see the tomb of the famous John Nelson, Mr. 
Wesley's faithful coadjutor. The spot where his earthly re- 
mains have rested nearly seventy years, is a little south of 
the old parish church. The tomb is a neat freestone square, 
covered with a slab of the same material, and bears the fol* 
lowing inscription : — 

JOHN NELSON, 

Departed this life, July 18th, 1774, 

Aged 67 years. 

MARTHA, HIS WIFE, 

Departed this life, September 11th, 1774, 

Aged 69. 

While we on earth had our abode, 
We both agreed to serve the Lord, 
And he was pleased as you may see, 
By death not long us parted be ; 
Then he required the breath he gave, 
And now we both rest in one grave, 
Until again he us restore, 
A life to live and die no more. 

An old building was pointed out to us, a few yards from 
the tomb, as the remains of the vicarage, where John's per 
secutor lived. 

Near the Wesleyan chapel we were shown into a very 
small brick building, where John used to read and pray « 
and over the little fireplace is engraved upon a stone, " John 
Nelson's study." Here he prepared some of those heavy 
thoughts, which came down with the execution of his stone- 
hammer, upon the rocky hearts of his hearers. 



316 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

Yesterday, accompanied by part of the kind family of 
John Howard, Esq., at whose house I am at present enter- 
tained, I rode to Micklefield, eight miles from Leeds, formerly 
the residence of the famous Sammy Hick, the village black- 
smith. 

His Memoir is now published by our Book Concern in 
?New York, and doubtless it has had a wide circulation in 
7 America. 

We put up at the village inn, and Sammy's daughter was 
pointed out to us, standing at the door of her own house, 
looking towards us with great earnestness. On approaching, 
she gave us a cheerful welcome, as if aware of the purport 
of our visit to Micklefield. " Walk in," said she ; " this is 
the house my father and mother occupied during fifty years, 
and there is the flagstone upon which my father was kneeling 
when he was converted to God, and where he was aftewards 
sanctified ; and it was, while sitting on a chair with his feet 
on that flag, he died and went home to glory. And on that 
other flagstone, my mother (Martha) died. There is the old 
shelf just as they had it, and that is the same old clock." 

We felt ourselves quite at home, and entered into an 
agreeable conversation respecting the " departed." Her 
good husband came in, and a few neighbors, and we sang, — 






" He breaks the power of cancelled sin, 
He sets the prisoner free ; 
His blood can make the foulest clean, 
His blood availed for me." 






Kneeling down upon the famous flagstone, I prayed that the 
blessing of God might descend upon the descendants of 
Sammy Hick, and upon these his old neighbors and as- 
sociates. 

We then visited the blacksmith's shop, the scene of Sam- 
my's labor at the anvil, and where he spent many a happy 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 317 

day. The identical bellows, used by Sammy, are yet there, 
and in active employment ; and the old anvil block, etc. 

Mr. Caughey now resumes his account of the progress of 
the revival. He had begun a second series of meetings in 
Oxford Place chapel, and concerning which he says : 

The congregations were greatly increased, when compared 
with my first visit. This is the largest chapel I have ever 
preached in ; indeed, I have been informed, it is the largest 
Methodist chapel in the world. It seats two thousand 
five hundred persons ; but from the spaciousness of the aisles, 
etc., when crowded, admits one thousand more ; and on Sab- 
bath nights it was always full, and many had to go away who 
could not get in. Such a mass of people was a most sublime 
and imposing scene. The Lord graciously assisted my voice, 
so that I was distinctly heard in all parts of the congregation. 
What a contrast when compared with years gone by ! Eight 
or nine years ago, my voice was so feeble, it was often with 
the greatest difficulty I could make three or four hundred 
persons hear ; now God has so enlarged its compass, as to 
reach the ears of three or four thousands. Perhaps this 
may tend to illustrate that important sentiment, that the 
Lord Jesus never calls a person to any great effort, or ex- 
traordinary duty, without the gracious intention of impart- 
ing a corresponding supply of strength for its accomplish- 
ment. 

I know not which to admire most, this or the society at 
Brunswick. They are truly a loving, gracious people. In 
the families of Mr. Holt, Mr. Dove, Mr. Howard, and Al- 
derman Musgrave, every thing was done to render my visit to 
their circuit most agreeable and delightful. Their hospitality, 
and many acts of kindness, have left an indelible impression 
upon my heart. Did I not tell you, before I left America, 
27* 



318 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

that the Lord would give me fathers and mothers, and broth- 
ers and sisters ? Nothing of all that God promised me has 
yet failed. With their ministers, the Rev. William Lord, the 
Rev. George B. Macdonald, and the Rev. Alfred Barrett, I 
have formed a friendship that will last for ever. 
' The results of the four weeks in the above place of wor- 
ship, were very gratifying. Three hundred persons were 
enabled to declare that the blood of Jesus had cleansed them 
from all sin ; and an equal number professed justification. 
A considerable portion of the latter were members of the 
Wesleyan church, and several from other churches and cir- 
cuits ; so that the increase to the church at Oxford place, 
cannot be more than about one hundred persons. On the 
last Sabbath in July, I returned to St.. Peter's chapel, which 
is almost equal in size to Oxford place, and continued there 
two weeks. During that time, two hundred persons ob- 
tained the blessing of sanctification, ninety-five of whom 
were from country circuits. One hundred and ninety indi- 
viduals professed justification ; fifty of this number were al- 
ready members in the St. Peter's circuit, and the remainder 
were from other churches and the world. Those who were 
converted from the world, and resided in the neighboring 
circuits, had notes given them, as an introduction to the lead- 
ers of classes in the Wesleyan society ; that they might 
have the benefit of weekly instruction, and become candi- 
dates for church membership. I have not been able to as- 
certain the increase, during the two weeks, to the church in 
St. Peter's ; but I doubt whether it amounts to more than 
fifty. 

With the Superintendent of the St. Peter's circuit, and 
his worthy colleagues, the Rev. Charles Cheetham and the 
Rev. William Cattle, I labored in great harmony. They are 
self-denying and zealous servants of God, well acquainted 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 319 

with revivals of religion ; and they have entered most heart- 
ily into the present movement. 

In the above chapel, they have more than their share of 
the poor ; but they are rich in faith : many of them have 
been acquainted, for a long time, with the deep things of God. 
They were more noisy during the services here than in any 
other,circuit in town ; but Mr. Harris had them generally un- 
der perfect control. There were seasons, however, when his 
voice of authority was lost amidst their hallelujahs. It glad- 
dened my heart to see men and women, clothed in the coarsest 
garb, feasting upon the richest blessings of the gospel of 
peace, and rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

Were I a resident of Leeds, and desired a close walk with 
Christ, and lessons on the deep things of God, though worth" 
thousands, I would choose for my place of worship, the St. 
Peter's Wesleyan chapel. I would sit at the feet of these 
poor saints, and learn from them how to watch and pray, 
live by faith, despise the world, conquer hell, and take the 
kingdom of heaven by violence. * * * * 

My work is now nearly finished in Leeds, and indeed in 
England, for the present ; as I sail from Hull, on the 13th 
Sept., 1843, by the will of God, for Rotterdam, Holland. 
Since my last to you, I have preached a few times in Wesley 
chapel, and in the Wesleyan chapel, village of Woodhouse, 
near Leeds. In both places the power of God was revealed 
in the conversion of sinners. 

On Sabbath evening, 3dinst., I preached out of doors, to 
an immense multitude, on the verge of Woodhouse Moor. 
Text : Rev. xx. 11 — 13. Some triflers made an effort for 
a little sport, but a few appeals spoiled the movement, and 
the parties listened with attention to the end. 

On the following week I preached farewell sermons in St. 
Peter's, Brunswick, and Oxford place chapels, with much 



S20 KAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

comfort to my own mind, and, I trust, profit to others. We 
have taken some pains to obtain statistics of the revival, with 
regard to conversions, and as correct as possible. We find that 
upwards of sixteen hundred persons have professed justifica- 
tion. This embraces the work carried forward in the chapels 
of the Leeds four circuits. In my letters to you and * * *, I 
have classed the new converts, so that you could see what pro- 
portion were Wesleyan, and from other churches and circuits 
in the country, and from the world. 

After deducting those converted from other churches in 
town, and those from the country circuits, many of whom 
were Wesley ans, and a goodly number from the world, it has 
been ascertained, that one thousand of the converts belong 
to Leeds. About six hundred and fifty of the latter were 
members of the Wesleyan church in Leeds. These may be 
divided into three classes. Those who had backslidden from 
God ; those who had never been converted, by far the great- 
est number ; and a few who had been living, to say the least, 
in a low state of grace, but, under the searching truth of 
God, had been involved in distressing doubts, and cast away 
the little confidence they had, but had sought a clearer man- 
ifestation of the favor of God, and found it. Such were 
questioned closely respecting past experience, and they gen 
erally said, " I have had secret misgivings for years, about 
my conversion ; there has been a standing doubt, which has 
ever annoyed me since I began to meet in class ; so that I 
have done little good, and received little, other than re- 
straint from going back into the world. My uneasiness has in- 
creased under this pointed preaching, and also in beholding 
this wonderful work of God. I felt, if I could not bear the 
test of this, how could I expect to bear the trials of my 
deathbed, or the fight of eternity. I have made much 
resistance against coming forward to be prayed for, have and 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 321 

held out for several weeks. At last I took up my cross, 
came forward among the penitents, as a sinner, and God, for 
Christ's sake, has pardoned all my sins." " Do you then 
consider this hour as the time of your conversion ? " "I 
prefer to do so, Sir, and shall consider this as my starting 
point for heaven." 

You will therefore perceive, that the increase to the four 
circuits is not more than three hundred and fifty souls. 
This is a much greater disproportion than any thing of the 
kind I have observed since my arrival on this side the 
Atlantic. Indeed, such classifications as I have sent you 
from Liverpool and Leeds, in regard to the subjects of justi- 
fication, have been new to me ; as I do not remember any 
necessity for such distinctions in any of the revivals in which 
I have been engaged in the United States. You are aware 
how seldom it is, that persons continue to meet in class for a 
length of time in the Methodist Episcopal Church, who have 
never been " born again." They are generally pushed to 
such extremities, under the preaching or in class, as to com- 
pel them either to retire into the ranks of the world or get 
converted to God. The frequency of revivals in each soci- 
ety of our church, also greatly contributes to lessen the 
number of such unhappy persons. Were I to take the sta- 
tistics of the revivals in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Liverpool, 
and Leeds, as criteria of the state of Methodism in this 
country, I should certainly conclude, that a vast number 
meet regularly in class for years, and in good standing too 
as it respects moral character, who have never obtained a 
satisfactory evidence of their adoption into the family of God. 

I am not sufficiently acquainted with the religious state of 
the Wesleyan body in this country, to say, whether it is thus 
with the societies generally, or that similar developments 
would be exhibited in case of a revival in other towns of the 



322 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

kingdom. My mind has been greatly exercised about it ; 
but in my communications to America I have refrained from 
speculations, and entertained my correspondents with plain 
matters of fact, which fell under my own observation. 

You know how easy it is for a stranger, passing rapidly 
through a country, to form opinions the most erroneous and 
absurd, of the real state of society. 

America has suffered severely in this way by travellers. 
Full of prejudice, and determined to pander to the vitiated 
taste of their countrymen at home ; having neither time, 
disposition, nor perhaps capabilities to examine into the true 
state of American society ; but driven on, by the force of 
circumstances, to write a book and travel too ; " wide awake " 
to all the peculiarities of that society with which they have 
the honor to mingle, namely, bar-room heroes, stage-coach 
characters, and the promiscuous crowd of men of all nations 
under heaven, on the crowded street of the city, or deck 
of the steamer, (to say nothing of the fictitious,) they are 
" enabled to draw to the life the national character of the 
Yankees." Their productions are published to the world, 
and read with avidity, and credited; while it is plain to 
those who have spent many years in that country, that their 
readers are still in total ignorance about American mannera 
and the real condition of the population. 

Xothing can be more unjust ; and American institutions, 
moral, religious, political, and scientific, have been caricatured 
from such sources of information. 

" Where others toil with philosophic force, 
Their nimble nonsense takes a shorter conrse ; 
Flings at your head convictions in a lump, 
And gains remote conclusions at a jump." 

But to return to the subject ; wherever such revival dis 
closures occur, whether in Europe or America, the matter 
is worthy of the most serious consideration. If the new 



■ 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS 323 

birth is the hinge upon which the salvation or damnation of 
the soul must turn, so many persons, living destitute of such 
a change, and within the bosom of a church, so clear, doc- 
trinallv and experimentally, upon this point, is a most serious 
and awful affair. Were I to venture any thing like an opin- 
ion, I would say, the cause might be traced to the entire 
absence of, or long intervals between, powerful revivals of 
religion. Where this is the case, there would be as much 
likelihood to find in such societies a healthy and vigorous 
membership, as a population enjoying excellent health though 
unvisited for years by the purifying breezes of heaven. We 
need a gale every now and then to sweep through the streets 
and lanes of our great towns to carry off the smoke and 
unhealthy exhalations. And thus it is in a spiritual sense 
with the church of God ; she needs a revival breeze. Our 
Lord compared the operations of the Spirit to the wind, 
which bloweth where it listeth ; and we still want the out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit, and in some places nothing but 
a tornado can clarify the spiritual atmosphere, so as to ren- 
der it fit to breathe in, or to see heaven through by faith — 
such as that which came in a sound from heaven, as of a 
rushing mighty wind, filling all our places of worship, and 
the heart of every worshipper ; shaking the place, and set- 
ting the town in an uproar, as Jerusalem in days of old. 
Acts ii. and iv. 31. And blessed be God, this is in full 
accordance with that verse which they sing vigorously in 
this country, as well as in America : — 

" Like mighty winds, or torrents fierce, 
Let it opposers all o'errun ; 
And every law of sin reverse, 
That faith and love may make all one." 

A neglect upon the part of ministers and leading members 
to carry out fully a revival where it has commenced, or an 



824 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

indisposition to live for and perpetuate a succession of those 
gracious visitations, weakens the church of God, and grieves 
the Holy Spirit. 

A certain town, for instance, is favored with a remarkable 
outpouring of the Spirit, with or without extraordinary instru- 
mentality, and a large increase of converted souls is realized 
by that church. Now, if instead of a vigorous co-operation 
with God for a continuation of the revival, (and I can see 
no reason why it should stop, while a backslider remains to 
be reclaimed, or an unconverted sinner in the town ; though 
the flame may not for a time catch upon sinners, it need 
never lose its intensity in the hearts of believers,) they 
grow weary in well doing, and desire something else more 
than the salvation of sinners ; the Spirit of God is then 
grieved, a blight comes on the church, and a general dead- 
ness will be the consequence, and most probably the melan- 
choly relapse of the new converts. 

But supposing the revival to have ceased, let the church 
be alive for its recommencement ; and whether their faith be 
fixed on God for a revival now, in the regular means of 
grace, or in the " special services " intended for next month, 
the effects must ever be the most salutary. The church of 
God is by that means kept in action, — brought into the 
field, — and activity is the spring-tide of religious feeling. 
Methodism, from the beginning, has been a system of aggres- 
sion against the devil and all his works ; let her keep to this, 
and she will multiply her numbers and increase both in powei 
and influence. Whenever and wherever she loses this dis- 
tinguishing feature in her economy, she must dwindle away 
into insignificance. I have never yet seen it fail ; and the 
catastrophe has always been in proportion to the length of 
time since she ceased to be the aggressor. It is not enough 
that Methodism is enabled to stand on the defensive, and 



RaMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 325 

; 

hold her own ; if 'this be all, a very small part of the designs 
of God are answered ; and she has little more than half her 
glory. Acquisition should never he effaced from her banners. 
The devil's territory must be invaded till earth and hell are 
aroused against her aggressive movements. Then, and not 
till then, shall Methodism be in the meridian glory of her 
usefulness. 

I have ever considered an anti-revival Methodist preacher 
as a phenomenon in Methodism. It would be almost as dif- 
ficult for a man of that character, unless a consummate hyp- 
' ocrite, to get into the ranks of American Methodism, as for 
' a Jesuit ; and I believe the remark will equally apply to 
1 Wesleyan Methodism in these kingdoms. I can, however, 
1 easily conceive how a minister may lose the life of God out 
of his soul, and fearfully backslide from first principles. A 
criminal indifference to zealous efforts for the salvation of 
sinners may characterize his movements. Is it not possible 
1 for him to impart the same feeling to the officers of the 
1 church during the years of his Stay upon the circuit ? Sup- 
: pose, that at the end of his term the church is cursed with 
i another of a similar spirit, the results upon the cause of God 
are too evident to need enlargement here. There have been 
mournful cases of that kind, as you very well know, in 
America, till the conference has been under the necessity to 
( request them to " sit down; " that is, to cease the itinerancy ; 
i and why ? Because of an almost universal protest against 
i receiving them from the circuits within the bounds of the 
conference. 

It has been ruled by some, and in high places too, that 

the flock are just what the pastors choose to make them. 

This precept, though extensive, is not of universal applica- 

' tion. " Like people, like priest," says the prophet Hosea; 

— as you find the people, so you shall the priest. This 

28 



326 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 

looks like tracing effects to their cause. But another holy 
prophet, Isaiah, after all his faithful labor, found his people 
what he would not, and mournfully complained, " I have 
labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in 
vain ; " and inquired, " Who hath believed our report ? and 
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ? " 

There have been places where ministers have worked 
themselves into the grave in ineffectual efforts for a revival. 

I have known branches of our church settle down and 
cease to look for another outpouring of the Holy Spirit, con- 
tented to glide along from year to year, without any revival, 
till their feeble and sickly state, and the wickedness of 
sinners around them, became notorious. 

Where there is no anxiety about a revival, in the hearts 
of the leading members of the church, it is not to be expected 
they will make that sacrifice of time and strength, required 
by the Holy Ghost, to bring about such an important triumph 
of the gospel. The inconsistency is greater where such an 
event is prayed for in sincerity, while a reluctancy is indulged 
to employ the necessary means. 

Whether any of these propositions apply to the past his- 
tory of the Methodist church in Leeds, and in the other 
towns I have visited, I cannot determine. 

You remember the great revival in * * *. Long and 
anxiously did they desire a revival ; but entertained at the 
same time an aversion to extraordinary means. And why ? 
Lest the ordinary services, which they admitted were inef- 
ficient, should be brought into discredit by the extraordinary ; 
as if another gospel was to be, preached in the latter, while 
in fact, the proposal was, only to preach the gospel a little 
oftener, — say every night hi the week in the same chapel, 
instead of one or two nights. God, again and again, both 
by his providence and the example and successes of other 



BABBLES AROUND LEEDS. 327 

churches, invited them to ' co-operate with him, in a direct 
Jand continued attack upon the devil's kingdom. But, " No, 
'the preaching on the Sabbath is excellent ; and if sinners 
are not aroused and converted by such preaching as we have 
now, they ought to be damned." They did not see that it 
is with mind as it is with matter — hammer long enough upon 
a rock, and you will break it in pieces ; repeat your stiokes 
upon mind, and it must also break down. Every body knows, 
that one day in the week, however heavy the hammer and 
rapid the blows, cannot accomplish so much, as if the same 
! were wielded every day of the week. 

No man in that town could have prevailed upon the lead- 
ing members of that church, to carry into their business 
operations the same principles they had adopted for a revival 
of religion — work one day and rest six. Thus they con- 
tinued several years. A few were converted in that time, 
and many were impressed with the truth, and joined the 
church, and met in class : — 

" But the place designed for growth in grace, 
Became their spiritual landing-place." 

They never grew at all, because they had not been born of 
the Spirit. With the exception of numbers, some of the 
classes resembled a Popish confessional ; the " experience " 
was scarcely a whisper, an^ none heard it but the leader ; 
and some were dumbies who could say nothing. What is 
recorded in 2 Kings xix. 3, might truly be said of that 
Church ; she had various troubles and rebukes from God, 
and blasphemies from a world of wickedness ; for the chil- 
dren were brought to the birth, and there was no power to 
bring forth. 

After years had passed away, and some of these unhappy 
persons had died, and probably slipped away into hell, the 
Lord heard the sighing of the prisoners, who yet continued 



S28 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS, 

in his church, and the secret supplications of some of the 
excellent of the earth. Preachers and people, with another 
man of God who had come by special invitation, humbled 
themselves before the Lord of Hosts. The house of God 
was thrown open day and night. Battle was given against 
the works of darkness. The population ran together, and 
cried, "What meaneth this? Are you mad or drunk?" 
" We are neither ; but come out every night, this week and 
next, and learn the secret." The burning truths of God were 
showered upon sinners during eight or nine days. At length 
God shook the heavens and the earth, the Spirit of God was 
poured out upon the people, hundreds of the sinners in Zion 
were born again, while God added daily to his victorious 
church scores of converted souls from the world. But this 
was succeeded by a humiliating difficulty. They might as 
well have tried to keep the thunder a secret as this revival. 
The report of it spread for and wide ; many came from a 
great distance to witness the conquering power of the gospel 
of Christ. All who had seen or heard of it, expected 
an amazing increase of members. Although it was large, 
yet when matters came to be sifted, it was not at all in 
proportion to the numbers reported to have been saved, 
and the reaction was injurious for a time. An astonishing 
monument of the revival had been raised, and the church 
was a living flame, but this did not satisfy those inclined to 
find fault. The insinuations of carnal professors were even 
more annoying than those from the world. They had been 
reproved in conscience for their inactivity during the revival ; 
and now, it seemed as if they enjoyed a secret satisfaction 
at what they called " the failure of the movement." But 
the ministers, leaders, and those who were devoted to God, 
knew the benefit derived too well to be weakened. They 
were all along aware, that the majority of those converted, 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 329 

were unconverted or backslidden members ; these, with the 
large increase, more than they had had for many years, and 
the high tone of religious feeling in the church, enabled 
them to reply to the cavillers, " We are well repaid for a 
few weeks' hard and glorious labor. We shall certainly use 
the very same means for another revival, within a few months 
from now. In the mean time we shall endeavor to train 
these new converts for nobler doings in the church of God. 
We shall get all things in readiness for another battle. We 
see plainly, that it is only preaching the gospel a little 
oftener, and with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 
If the Lord has done so much for us under such disadvan- 
tages, what may we not expect during another campaign, 
seeing that we have so many hundreds more of converted 
souls to bring into the field ? " 

Again and again, you are aware, has that church been 
visited with such outpourings of the Holy Spirit, till not a 
dog dare move his tongue against a revival. Exod. xi. 7. 
You may possibly recollect my reading you an extract from 
the Annual Address of the British Conference to the Wes- 
leyan Methodists, in 1839 or 1840. It was a source of great 
encouragement to me, as it showed that the ministers of the 
Wesleyan church had not varied a hair-breadth from first 
principles. " Some churches regard revivals of religion as 
gracious singularities in their history ; we regard them as 
essential to our existence. If a regular series of divine 
visitations, issuing in the conversion of sinners, be not vouch 
safed to us, we must either change the spiritual constitution 
of our discipline or we shall pine away from among the 
tribes of God's Israel." 

In no town that I have hitherto visited, has the work of 
entire sanctification advanced with such swiftness, power, 
and distinctness, as in this town. Hundreds were raised up 
28* 



i30 RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS 

to testify, in the clearest manner, that the blood of Jesus 
Christ had cleansed them from all sin. More than once, 
however, it has been hinted in certain companies, that the 
majority of these had only experienced a larger degree of 
justifying grace ; in a few days or weeks from now, they 
would come down from such flights, and be content with the 
level of the justified ones. Were I called upon for a reply, 
I would say, it may be so, and most likely will be so, if their 
testimony be treated with unwarrantable suspicion by their 
fellow members. Let this holy flame be fanned by frequent 
and clear sermons on this doctrine, and let all those who 
have professed this great blessing be exhorted to hold it fast ; 
and should any such suffer loss, let the whole church cry to 
God for their recovery. Moreover, let the puri^ed souls be 
encouraged to bear a distinct and weekly testimony to what 
God has done for them, without any annoying insinuations, 
unless their conduct contradict their profession ; let them be 
treated in a loving but searching manner ; and if they have 
been mistaken, they may not be discouraged, but obtain the 
very thing after which their eager souls have been so sin- 
cerely aspiring. At the same time let all the Lord's people 
be exhorted to press into this glorious liberty of the sons of 
God, now, by simple faith ; and this revival of entire sancti- 
fication need never stop, till the entire Wesleyan church in 
Leeds is saved, to sin no more. 






After Mr. Caughey left Leeds, those enemies to revivals 
who could not in the face of facts deny that a mighty work 
was wrought, reported that a decline in religion had sue 
ceeded his labors, owing to the great instability of the con 
verts. But this malignant falsehood found its contradiction 
in the minutes of the Annual Conferences, for they showed 
that while the numbers in society had been gradually 



RAMBLES AROUND LEEDS. 331 

il 

* declining in Leeds from 1840 to 1843, the period of Mr. 
i Caughey's labors, there was an increase of five hundred 
members reported at the following Conference, and the circuit 
continued to prosper from the impulse it then received. 

After leaving Leeds, Mr. Caughey made a short tour on 
the continent, in which he passed rapidly through portions of 
France, Holland, Prussia, Germany, and Switzerland, making 
observations on men and manners, and gathering information 
adapted to freshen his mind and prepare him for further 
labors in his Master's vineyard. 

His account of this tour is contained in his 6 Letters,' but 
for want of space we are compelled to pass over them alto- 
gether. On his return from the continent we find him 
resuming his pleasant toils in the town of Hull; for an 
account of which the reader must peruse the next chapter. 



CHAPTER XX. 

GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

The following chapter is rich in incident. It exhibits the 
grace of God in one of its most wonderful manifestations. 
God is seen riding gloriously in the Revival Chariot, and the 
Cross triumphs over the Serpent, to the confusion of sinners 
and the joy of saints. Such displays of heavenly power, as 
were made in the Waltham street chapel, show that the 
modern church may have its days of Pentecost as well as 
the ancient. 0, for that fidelity to God ! that praying faith, 
which, with holy violence, takes the kingdom of God by 
force ! 

The reader will remember that the visit of Mr. Caughey 
to Hull took place in the autumn of 1843, directly after his 
return from his first continental tour. He had been in Hull 
some weeks when he wrote the following account of the work 
to a friend in America : — 

During the first two weeks I had very straitened times in 
preaching ; frequently, indeed, my mouth was almost closed. 
Do you understand this ? I had difficulty in getting ideas, 
and quite as much in expressing them ; as if they would die 
away on my lips. I could only account for these humiliating 
times on the supposition that they, (the Methodists,) were 
depending upon an " arm of flesh," instead of trusting in the 
332 






GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 333 

living God. They had heard, it seems, much about your 
friend; expectation was " on tiptoe;" nothing was looked 
for but some mighty and sweeping arguments, with bursts of 
commanding eloquence, which would carry every thing be- 
fore them, mowing down sinners by hundreds. Had their 
faith been fixed in God for this, it is not unlikely he would 
have honored it, by an immediate putting forth of his power, 
in an extraordinary manner. This was a sore trial to me ; 
and my divine Master continued to let me down lower and 
lower. 

One night, during this humiliation, an intelligent member 
said to her husband, as they were returning home, " That 
good man should not take a text at all." My soul was pros- 
trated and humbled before God and man, and mourned in 
the dust. The Rev. William Illingworth, one of the min- 
isters stationed in this town, one evening after preaching, 
explained to me, in a pleasant but serious manner, the great 
hinderance in the way of a revival. It is not necessary to 
repeat the conversation, as the substance is incorporated in 
the above, but his concluding advice went deep into my 
heart : " Hold on ; preach as you can ; by-and-by the peo- 
ple will lay hold of the throne of grace for themselves, by 
faith and prayer. They will not do this, however, till, they 
have learned the useful lesson — man can do nothing. Then 
we shall have a breaking down, such as you have not seen. 
This you may depend upon." 

This encouraged me ; and we cheerfully, both in preach 
ing and in various exhortations, labored to show the people 
that without an influence from above, the gospel, with all 
our efforts, must continue a dead letter. Gehazi was sent 
by his master (2 Kings iv.) to lay the staff of Elisha upon 
the face of the dead child of the Shunammite. Gehazi ran, 
expecting to do wonders ; just as some think of accomplish 



331 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

ing great things by their sermons, without a proper depend- 
ence upon the Holy Ghost, and are doomed to a signal 
disappointment. Gehazi laid the staff upon the " head" of 
the child ; like ministers of the gospel, who endeavor to drive 
the life of religion into the hearts of sinners, by attacking 
the head, the intellect only. He stood by the corpse, anx- 
iously watching the process, and hoping, no doubt, to have 
the miracle wrought before his master arrived ! But the 
child remained as dead as the staff. " There was neither 
voice nor hearing.' , Satisfied, at length, that the means had 
totally failed — I doubt whether the man spent five minutes 
in agonizing prayer for the recovery of the child — discour- 
aged, Gehazi went out to meet Elisha, exclaiming as they 
met, " The child is not awaked I " I wish all pious people, 
and all unsuccessful ministers, would thus return to their 
Lord and Master, saying, " The staff — the sermon has been 
applied to the sinner's head and heart — but he is not awak- 
ened ! " Let them see to it, however, that they fall down 
and agonize with God, in the presence of the sinner, and 
leave no means untried, before they sink into despondency, 
and return forlornly to their God, as Gehazi to his master. 
Elisha said nothing, but went into the house, entered the 
chamber of death, and remained there alone with the corpse, 
praying to God. After which, he "lay upon" the dead 
boy, " and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon 
his eyes, and his hands upon his hands ; and he stretched 
himself upon the child, and the flesh of the child waxed 
warm." The minister of Christ must address himself to the 
whole man, if he will have the dead sinner raised to life ; 
the passions must be warmed and excited, as well as the 
eyes of the understanding opened. Elisha then arose " and 
walked in the house to and fro," no doubt greatly moved in 
himself, and crying earnestly to God. Again he repeated 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. SS5 

the experiment upon the child, using the means, and trusting 
in the power of a miracle-working God. At length there 
were signs of life, and a noise ; the child sneezed seven 
times, opened his eyes, and was restored by Elisha, alive, to 
his joyful mother. 

" Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the 
Lord of hosts." Zech. iv. 6. " Christ had the key to open 
Lydia's heart," says an old divine, " but St. Paul might 
have preached his heart out, before Lydia's heart would have 
opened to let the word in, had not the Lord undertaken the 
work." Acts xvi. 14. Christ has the key to the human 
heart, but he must turn it, or it will remain obstinately and 
for ever shut against all the preaching that may be thundered 
at the door ! The word of God is a seal, (Rom. vi. 17, and 
Eph iv. 30,) but it requires the hand of the Holy Ghost upon 
the word, in order to an impression. As powder to a bullet, 
so are faith a ad love in the heart of a minister, to make truth 
effective. 

The people of God were exhorted and entreated to be- 
seech the Lord of hosts to fill the hearts of his ministers with 
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven ; they were told 
again and again that the weightiest truth could accomplish 
nothing without the direct agency of the Spirit ; that with- 
out this influence, the words of the preacher would fall like 
feathers or flakes of snow upon the congregation, and with a 
similar effect. The Lord applied such truths as the above 
to the hearts of many. The spirit of prayer descended upon 
the people, many of whom were now in an agony for the 
conversion of sinners. Hundreds of prayers ascended to 
heaven every day, and during every sermon, for " the out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit." The superintendent, the Rev. 
Robert Thompson, managed the prayer meetings admirably ; 
and his colleagues, the Rev. William Illingworth, and the 



336 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

Rev. John Vine, came up to the help of the Lord, in a noble 
and energetic manner. The people of God, observing how 
cordially and confidently their ministers co-operated in the 
work, were cheered and encouraged to give all the aid within 
their power ; their numbers increased in the meetings daily, 
and good men from every part of the town rallied around 
our standard, and prayer became general. " The effectual, 
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," says St. 
James; and says a good old minister, "If one trumpet 
sounds so loud in the ears of God, how much more a concert 
of all the silver trumpets of Zion sounding together. If 
one sigh of a praying man wafts the bark to the desired 
haven, or stirreth Zion's ship, how much more a gale of sighs 
breathed by a thousand real Christians. "Where so many 
hands are lifted up, how many blessings may they not pull 
down from heaven ! " The valley of dry bones was stirred, 
(Ezek. xxxvii.,) " There was a noise, and behold a shaking. ,, 
The Spirit of God now moved in power, and breathed upon 
the slain, and they lived, and " stood upon their feet," a little 
army of three hundred and fifty souls, who had passed from 
death unto life. More than one half of this number were 
already members of the Wesleyan church ; some of whom 
had backslidden from God, and others had never been convert- 
ed ; the remainder were from the world. We found also 
about two hundred persons, who had within a few weeks ex- 
perienced the blessing of entire sanctification. Thess. v. 23, 
24. All glory be to God ! From George Yard chapel, 
(Methodist places of worship are all called chapels in this 
country; some members of the Establishment call them 
" meeting-houses," others " preaching-houses," to degrade 
them as far as possible from their churches ; this, of course, 
you would not bear in America,) we adjourned to the King 
ston chapel ; a new, large, and elegant edifice. 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 337 

Considerable fear was entertained by many, as to the re- 
sult of a special effort in this chapel, as it was a new interest, 
and very many of the pew-holders were unconverted, and 
not a few of them comparative strangers to Methodism. But 
the people of God were too well acquainted with the source 
from whence we obtained our victory at George Yard, to 
place a revival in this chapel upon the ground of probability. 
Indeed the last Saturday evening we spent at George Yard, 
previous to commencing at Kingston, the Rev. Mr. Thomp 
son told them, We must not go to that chapel under any 
other feeling than an unconquerable and unwavering deter- 
mination to obtain a glorious victory for the Lord God of 
hosts. He then offered all the lovers of Jesus in that band- 
meeting a " motto, and a watchword," to circulate through 
all their ranks ; and advised it should be the language of 
their hearts as they passed along the streets to the chapel, 
and at every meeting there, Victory ! Victory ! ! Victo- 
ry ! ! ! You know my sensitive nature ; how easily weak- 
ened, how ready to be encouraged in conflicts such as these , 
My soul was happy ; I felt as if I could run through a troop, 
and leap over a wall ! 

The following morning (Sabbath) we commenced the 
" special services " at Kingston ; enjoyed a good day, and a 
number of sinners were converted to God. A few days had 
only passed away, when the revival was advancing with all 
the rapidity and power it had at George Yard. We con- 
tinued to fight the battles of the Lord in this chapel, till the 
30th ult., when it was ascertained that more than two hun- 
dred sinners had been converted from the world, besides 
seventy or eighty members ; there were also two hundred 
and fifty members who obtained the blessing of entire sanc- 
tification. The select meeting for the young Converts was 
similar to those I have described in other letters. Unite 
29 



338 GLOBIOUS WORK OF -GOD IN HULL. 

■with me, my dear friend, in giving all the glory to God for 
such Wonderful displays of his power ! The Lord is very 
good to me, his unworthy servant ; and I am sure you will 
assist me in giving him thanks for his great mercy in multi- 
plying the evidences, that my mission to Europe was of God. 
It affords me great pleasure also, to say, that, under God, 
much of this success has been owing to the " brotherly kind- 
ness " manifested by the superintendent and his worthy col- 
leagues, during my stay among them. Every thing was done 
by them to smooth my path, and to open to me a wide door 
of usefulness in this town ; and with such genuine good 
will as none could misunderstand. It was seldom that there 
was not one of them present to take the management of the 
prayer meeting. Some of their exhortations, especially 
those of the Rev. Mr. Illingworth, were among the most 
soul-stirring and sinner-awakening appeals I have ever heard. 
The local preachers and leaders, among whom was my host, 
Mr. William Field, entered into the work with an ardor and 
success I have never seen excelled. Bless the Lord, my 
soul, and all that is within me praise him, that he has per- 
mitted me to form such an acquaintance with so many de 
voted servants of the living God ! The presence of the 
stationed ministers relieved my mind from a weight of re- 
sponsibility ; and having perfect confidence in their judgment 
I was saved from all anxiety from that quarter. The help also 
of so many men of deep experience, rendered unnecessary 
those exhausting personal efforts with penitents after preaching 
which you are aware have worn me down in other revivals. 
We retained the same secretary who officiated at George 
Yard, (Mr. M. * *,) by which means, persons who had relapsed 
into doubt, (which frequently happens during a revival,) and 
had re-obtained a clear sense of the pardoning love of God, 
were prevented from having their names recorded a second 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD itf HULL. 339 

time ; which should always be avoided, if possible, as it only 
swells the number to an unreal amount. 

Having received an invitation to the Hull West Circuit, 
from the superintendent, the Rev. Thomas Martin, I preached 
in Waltham Street chapel, last Sabbath morning ; but in 
such a "rough and unpalatable manner," that many were 
offended. At night, I came forward with a text which had 
for some time rested upon my mind, with solemn weight : 
" This year thou shalt die." The warning was attended 
with an unusual influence from God, and about forty sinners 
were converted. This display of the power of truth, togeth- 
er with the solemn and impressive services of " the watch- 
night," have given an impulse to the revival, which I trust 
it will retain during the entire special services on this 
circuit. 

I am at present busily engaged in preparing a volume of 
my Letters for the press, and under various apprehensions 
as to how they may be received by the public ; but this I 
must leave with the Lord. The principle upon which I pro- 
ceed is this : If the work of God be neglected, in bringing out 
this volume, the Lord may frown upon it, and it will not 
succeed, but become a total loss to me. But if I continue to 
give my energies fully to the revival, leaving nothing undone 
likely to promote its interests, and then do what else I can 
in relation to the book, the Lord may smile upon the produc- 
tion, give it a circulation, and make it a blessing. The pre- 
paring of this volume is a secondary thing ; and this is as it 
should be. The fruit of my preaching, I thank God, is not 
so problematical as that of my pen. My mind is quite free 
from dtaloyiafioi, " evil reasonings," when preaching to a 
chapel full of sinners, repentance toward God and faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ. "Here is solid footing! " The re- 
sults are sure, so long, at least, as I live entirely to God, 



340 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

and while my Lord graciously permits me to retain the com- 
mission he vouchsafed to me in America. 

In a letter bearing date of Feb. 28, (1844,) Mr. Caughey 
resumes his notices of the Hull revival as follows : 

You will be rejoiced to hear that the revival is advancing 
with rapidity and power. The great end which every con- 
scientious preacher of the gospel should have in view, is being 
accomplished daily in this town — the conversion of sinners 
to God. The effects of truth upon scores and hundreds of 
the sons and daughters of wickedness, are distinct and 
undeniable. 

Since the last day of the last year, my labors have been 
confined to the Hull West Circuit. We continued the ser- 
vices in Waltham Street chapel, from the 31st of December 
till the 17th instant. 

During that time, the congregations were large, beyond 
any thing I had yet seen in a revival. The chapel, on the 
week nights, was often "filled to overflowing," long before 
the hour had arrived for preaching. Every service, during 
the above period, was marked by a gracious and constraining 
influence from above. There were seasons, too, when the 
power of God was revealed in a manner most astonishing. 
An extraordinary manifestation of this kind occurred in the 
above chapel, on Friday night, 2d instant, which I shall 
never forget, nor will the multitudes who were present. 
During the first forty minutes of the sermon, there was an 
awful solemnity, " a general calm ; " not unlike a prelude to 
one of your American storms of thunder and lightning and 
rain — " a silent awe, that dares not move," pervaded the vast 
assembly. So profound was the silence, that one would have 
supposed the falling of a pin could have been heard in any 
part of the chapel. From, say, the fortieth to the forty 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 341 

eighth minute of the discourse, there were occasional flashes 
of divine power, succeeded by suppressed sounds from dif- 
ferent parts of the congregation, indicating emotions of na 
ordinary character. The preaching was very far from being 
of a boisterous kind ; but when the preacher arrived at that 
point where it was strongly, but not with violence, urged 
that full salvation should be expected every moment, by faith, 
there was a divine feeling. " If we are sanctified by faith," 
said the preacher, " why not now ? this very moment, this 
instant, now ? " my brother. If 

" Your soul breaks out in strong desire, 
This perfect bliss to prove ; 
Your longing heart is all on fire, 
To be dissolved in love." 

More rapid than thought shall be your transition into a 
state of perfect purity and perfect love. If you dare to be- 
lieve, he cleanses now ; in answer to your powerful prayer it 
shall be done. Believe that he does save you from sin now, 
and just now, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son does cleanse 
you from all sin, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and you 
shall be able to testify, " Let men exclaim, and fiends re- 
pine," — 

" 'Tis done, thou dost this moment save, 
With full salvation bless ; 
Redemption through thy blood I have, 
And spotless love and peace ! " 

At this moment, an influence, evidently from Heaven, 
same upon the people suddenly ; * it seemed like some 
mighty rushing — like the bursting of a storm of wind upon 
some extensive forest. The entire congregation was in mo- 
tion ; some preparing to fly from the place, and others in the 
act of prostrating themselves before the Lord God of hosts. 
Cries for mercy, and piercing supplications for purity of 

* Acts ii. 2. 

29* 



Zil GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

heart, were heard from all parts of the agitated mass — on 
the galleries, as well as throughout the body of the chapel ; 
while purified souls were exulting in the loftiest strains of 
adoration. 

The scene was, beyond description, grand and sublimely 
awful. It was " God's own house, and heaven's gate." Poor 
sinners were amazed, and fled ; but some of them fell down, 
some distance from the chapel, in terror and agony. Many, 
however, remained, venturing the publican's plea, " God be 
merciful to me a sinner ! " My soul, full of holy awe, 
trembled before the majesty of God. Like Elijah, who cov- 
ered his face in his mantle when the Lord passed by, I 
was glad of a place of concealment in the bottom of 
the pulpit. The superintendent minister, the Rev. Thomas 
Martin, who was with me in the pulpit at the time, was so 
overpowered, that he could do nothing but weep and adore. 
Thus it continued for about twenty-five minutes, when the 
Lord stayed his hand, and there was a sudden and heavenly 
calm, full of sunshine and glory. The number converted 
and sanctified on that night was great. It appears the in- 
fluence was almost as powerful outside the chapel as within. 
An unconverted man, who was standing without at the time, 
waiting to accompany his wife home, said, when she came 
out, " I don't know what has been going on in the chapel, or 
how you have felt, but there was a very strange feeling came 
over me while I was standing at the door." 

A few such shocks of almighty power would turn the 
kingdom of the devil in any place or city upside down, and 
go far to convert the entire population. 

I have seen but few such manifestations of divine power 
during the course of my ministry ; that which occurred at 
the Port Jackson camp-meeting, on the western banks cf Lake 
Ohamplain, very much resembled it. 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 343 

I have become acquainted with several remarkable cases 
of conversion, in connection with this revival, some of which 
will be interesting to you. 

A few mornings since, a backslider, aged about fifty, 
called to see me, in great distress of mind. He trembled 
from head to foot, and so great was his anguish, he could 
not, for some time, utter a word. At length, he cried, 
"Lord, help me ! 0, Sir, a few hours ago, I had a dream. 
I thought I was in a strange town, some distance from Hull, 
where the devil appeared to me, and attempted to carry me 
off to hell, body and soul. My soul was greatly troubled in 
my dream, and I begged for a certain number of hours, that 
I might return to Hull, and bid my wife and family farewell. 
I asked for twenty-four hours, in which to go and come back ; 
allowing twelve hours to remain with my family. The devil 
replied, ' Very well, you shall have that time ; ' and now," 
continued the unhappy man, weeping as if his heart would 
break, " I believe I shall be taken sick to-morrow, at a cer- 
tain time, and die." It is a warning from God, my friend, 
I replied, and receive it as such. " But I shall die to-morrow, 
about this time." No ; I believe you will live much beyond 
that period, if you seek for mercy, and get your backslidings 
healed ; you may be spared yet a number of years, to glori- 
fy your pardoning God. " Do you think so ? " I certainly 
do, but it will be at your peril to procrastinate your salva- 
tion. Come forward to be prayed for to-night, at the close 
of the sermon, in Waltham Street chapel, should you not 
obtain salvation before. After prayer, he departed in great 
anguish and agitation of spirit. That night he came for- 
ward, among many other penitents, with his deeply-awakened 
wife by his side ; nor did he leave the place of prayer till 
God had restored to his soul the joys of salvation. A few 
days after, on a Sabbath morning, at the Kingston chapel, I 



844 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

mentioned the case ; and he arose and testified to a large 
congregation that he was the sinner whom God had so won- 
derfully rescued from hell. 

The following letter from one of the leaders of the Hull 
East Circuit to me, unfolds an interposition of the presence 
and power of God, which ought not to be concealed : — 

" Hull, February 27, 1844. 
"Dear Sir, 

" Feeling assured that it will be mteresting to you to re- 
ceive any information concerning those persons who, during 
this great revival, have been brought to ' the knowledge of 
the truth,' especially, as so many infidels, moralists, and car- 
nal professors seem determined to brand that work as the 
effect of a mere mental, temporary excitement, it is with 
unfeigned pleasure I communicate the following incident, as 
additional evidence that the work in which you are engaged, 
is indeed the work of God. 

"You will remember, dear Sir, during the services at 
Kingston chapel, one night, at the close of your sermon, you 
were involved in a deep and intense agony respecting some 
individual in the congregation, who, as it appeared to you, 
was violently resisting the influences of the Holy Spirit, and 
upon the very brink of destruction ; and, so solemn and aw- 
ful was the impression, at that moment, throughout the vast 
congregation, that many persons have repeatedly declared, 
they never recollected any thing comparable to it during their 
previous history. 

" The following incident may serve, perhaps, in some 
measure, to elucidate the occasion of that most extraordi- 
nary and overwhelming scene : — 

"J. A., now a member of my class, and apparently, 
about forty years of age, was, until within the last two or 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 345 

three months, a bitter enemy of religion, and a violent per- 
secutor of the people of God. In his sentiments he appears 
to have been an infidel ; for, notwithstanding his awful blas- 
phemies uttered against every thing sacred, he has been 
frequently heard to say, that 'if there were a God and a 
heaven, he had no doubt of going there.' I ought to state 
that his wife had been for some time a member of our so- 
ciety, but through his violent persecutions, she was induced, 
after considerable endurance, to withdraw herself, and lost 
her religion. No matter into what company J. A. entered, 
whenever religion was named, he never hesitated to denounce 
it as a system of 'fraud and deception,' and its ministers as 
' rogues, vagabonds, devils,' &c. And he has often said, that 
1 if ever he entered Kingston chapel, he hoped he should be 
smothered, or that it would fall down upon him and crush 
him.' Soon after you came to Hull, he visited a member of 
my class, Mrs. J., and during the conversation said, 'Why 
you have another rascal come to town.' ' Rascal,' said the 
person, ' who do you mean ? ' 

" ' Why,' said he, ' that man from America.' And again 
he commenced his old course of blasphemous language 
against the ministers of religion, &c, when she remind- 
ed him of the impropriety of such language in the pres- 
ence of her children, and commanded him to leave the 
house, at the same time telling him, that she should call 
upon his wife to go and hear this Mr. Caughey. 

" She did so. His wife went to the chapel, and through the 
mercy of God, was awakened and converted. She was solicit- 
ed to become a member of society, and a leader waited upon 
her two or three times ere he could meet with her at home. 
Her husband, by some means, received some intimation of it, 
and became greatly enraged ; prohibited her from attending 
class meetings, threatening her, if she did, with the most 



346 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

awful denunciations, and hoping that l if ever she entered 
that chapel (Kingston) again, she would fall down and break 
her neck.' But she was determined, if possible, to attend ; 
and as the duties of her husband required his attention at 
that period of the evening, she thought she could do so with 
out his knowledge. That day came, and to use his own ex- 
pression, he \ felt like a devil ; ' came to the dreadful de- 
termination, as sincerely and resolutely as he ever determined 
upon any thing in his life, as he himself has since declared, 
to take away the lives of his wife and child, in fact to ' cut 
their throats,' and afterwards to destroy himself. In order 
to effect this horrid deed, he hired a man to occupy his place, 
and proceeded to his house. His wife, being unacquainted 
with these circumstances, was, of course, not a little sur- 
prised to see him. Yery suddenly and unexpectedly, how- 
ever, he changed his purpose, and announced his intention 
to go with her to chapel. They went ; but on their way, he 
reiterated his strange wish that they might be ' smothered ; ' 
and indeed he was ' smothered,' whether from external or 
internal causes, or both, but most probably from extreme 
mental conflict ; for he was observed to be in a state of deep 
agitation during the whole service ; huge drops of perspira- 
tion, large as peas, were seen to drop almost incessantly from 
his brow. Indeed, if ever the powers of heaven and the 
demons of hell were in conflict for a man's soul, it seems as 
if they were for his. So great was the agony of his mind 
that he was quite incapable of paying attention to the ser- 
mon. 

" But he was within the precints of the Lord's sanctuary 
and the range of divine influence. As you were proceeding 
in your discourse, he made a move to leave the chapel, and 
requested his wife to follow him ; but she pressed him to re- 
main a little longer ; and this was repeated two or three times, 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 347 

until at last he said, with as much vehemence as he dared, 
\ What the devil in hell will you stay here for ? ' She then 
thought it necessary to move, and they went out. You will 
i remember, dear Sir, when in that tremendous agony, you 
heard some person moving, as if to leave the chapel, and you 
. besought them, with the utmost fervor and energy, not to 
. leave the place ; as though you thought the individual con- 
| cerning whom you were so burdened was then retiring from 
i me chapel. He and his wife were then going out. 
i " The ' hand of the Lord,' however, was upon him, and 
ae had not proceeded far, when his heart began to yield, and 
| his convictions became deeper and more intense, almost at 
! every step, until at last his alarm and terror became so great 
I that he could proceed no further ; and the house of a sister, 
which he had long avoided on account of her religious prin- 
ciples, being near, he now entered to groan out the agonies 
of his soul, and plead for salvation. All united in fervent 
and earnest prayer with him, but he did not obtain the deliv- 
erance he so anxiously sought. He kept his burden untii 
the following Saturday evening, when he attended the band- 
meeting, but he was not relieved even there. He then pro 
ceeded towards the town, for the purpose of purchasing 
some groceries ; but his burden was so intolerable he could 
not reach the shop he generally frequented, and procured 
them at the nearest. On his return, he again called at his 
sister's, and prayer was again made for him, but apparently 
in vain. He went home, and after a tremendous agony, he 
obtained, about one or two o'clock in the morning, the for- 
giveness of his sins. He could then say, ' Being justified 
by faith, I have peace with God.' He and his wife have at- 
tended my class ever since. His peace and joy, for several 
weeks, were unutterable ; to use his own expression, his 
5 heart was so full, he could not tell us ; ' all he could say 



348 aioRious work of god in hull. 

was ho was happy, very happy ; and he continues to evidence, 
to the present time, the reality and genuineness of the 
change wrought by the Holy Spirit within him. He attributes 
his conversion to your prayers, and the prayers of the con- 
gregation, offered, as they seemed to him to have been, 
especially for himself. 

" Such, dear Sir, are the triumphs of the grace of God ; 
and no doubt there are many instances equally remarkable, 
if they were only brought to light. The prayers and best 
wishes of hundreds, aye, and thousands, are upon you and 
will follow you wherever you may go. May the Lord bless 
and prosper you more and more ! May your health and 
strength be long preserved to labor in this great work ; and 
that you may yet be permitted to see many thousands and tens 
of thousands brought out of darkness into light, and from the 
power of Satan unto God, is the sincere and fervent prayer 
of, dear Sir, yours most affectionately, 

"Thomas Lester. 

" To the Rev. Mr. Caughey. 

" P. S. You will perhaps remember, whilst pleading in 
agony that evening you uttered the words, 6 Visit not in 
judgment, Lord, but in mercy ; ' and at last you rose cry- 
ing, ' Christ shall have the victory ! ' Mr. J., the husband 
of Mrs. J., before mentioned, who also meets in my class, and 
who knew J. A. well, told me, the other evening, that it was 
his decided impression, that night he was at chapel, that un 
less he was awakened that very evening, ' the Lord would 
visit him in judgment, and make an example of him.' He also 
stated that, as nearly as he could calculate, the time when 
you exclaimed, ' Christ would gain the victory ! ' was just at 
the moment J. A. began to relent." 

Another letter lies before me, bearing date the 4th instant, 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 349 

in which there is a deeply affecting account of the death of 
a young man, of which the following is the substance : — 

He was present, it seems, at the watch-night service, at 
Waltham Street chapel, when I preached from that text, 
" This year thou shalt die ; " but he resisted the influence 
which attended that sermon, and turned away his ear from 
1 the call. When the letter was written, they had laid him 
in his coffin, ready for interment the next day. 

It appears, that about twenty-seven days after he heard 

the warning, he was taken with a bad headache in the night. 

' Next day he lost the use of both legs ; the work of death 

proceeded most rapidly. He endured great pain, and was 

in extreme anguish. This continued five days. During his 

'affliction, he would answer no question about his eternal 

1 state, until he was very much pressed to it ; and then the 

1 reply was, he hoped to get better, and that if God would 

spare him he would lead a new life. Toward the closing 

scene, he desired prayer to be offered for him, and died. 

( "He was a child of praying parents," says the letter, 
i " and his mother is now in glory. When he heard you, he 
•was full of life and vigor, and as likely to live, ten days ago, 
as any man you could look upon. I believe that, at least, 
I he died a true penitent. These statements come from evi- 
dence which is most unquestionable. He now lies about two 

hundred yards from chapel ; and as some of his friends 

; may hear you to-night, you will use your discretion in 
(bringing it forward, as they feel deeply on the subject. 

" Your humble brother in Christ, 
i II. G." 



I am sure you will be gratified to read the following letter 
'from another class-leader : — 
30 



850 glorious work op god in hull. 

"Dear and Rev. Sir: 

" The purport of this letter serves to inform you of a 
circumstance which must be both pleasing and profitable to 
you. Yesterday I was waited upon by the bearer, and 
requested to attend the c dying bed ' of a young woman, 
Hannah Jackson, aged eighteen, for the purpose of writing 
a few words from her lips to you ; which I did, and found 
her perfectly happy in the love of God, and triumphant in 
her last conflict. 

" She desired me to tell you how happy she was ; — that 
on the 14th of last January she was awakened under one 
of your sermons, to a sense of her lost condition ; and that, 
after enduring much misery on account of her sins, she 
found peace with God, through faith in the blood of the 
Lamb, on the 20th of the same month ; that shortly after, it 
pleased the Lord to afflict her unto death, but having obtained 
mercy, she could now, on the verge of the eternal world, read 
her title clear to a heavenly mansion. I then promised her 
that you should have this communication ; and in about an 
hour she died, triumphing in her Redeemer's love. 

1 O, may we triumph so, 
When all our conflict 's past ! ' 

" And now, my dear Sir, having given you a brief account 
of the above, and thus fulfilled my promise, I will not occupy 
more of your precious time, but conclude by wishing you 
may be made the happy instrument, in God's hands, of 
plucking many more brands from the burning, and that they 
may be as stars in the crown of your rejoicing. 

" I remain, in great haste, your sincere friend and brother 
In Christ, 

Henry Cox." 

"Rev. J. Caughey." 



GLORIOUS WORK OE GOD IN HULL. 351 

On Thursday night, the 17th instant, we held a meeting 
for the benefit of the new converts, in Waltham Street 
chapel. In consequence of many being in the employment 
of others, some also unavoidably detained by their own 
business, and several belonging to country circuits, who 
could not attend, there were not so many present as some 
expected. Three hundred and fifty persons came forward 
to the altar, and in the clearest manner declared they had 
obtained a conscious knowledge of the forgiveness of sins, 
through the precious blood of Christ, during the progress 
of the revival in Waltham Street chapel. The Rev. Thomas 
Martin, and one of his colleagues, the Rev. William Hurt, 
spoke to each person separately, and expressed themselves 
fully satisfied with their experience, and exhorted them, in 
the most effectual and pathetic manner, to hold fast the 
beginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end. It 
was, indeed, a gracious season. Such weeping, praying, 
and rejoicing, I have seldom seen. More than two hundred 
persons came forward to be prayed for, after the new converts 
had retired to their seats. 

The following night, I preached on the influence of a long 
enjoyment of holiness in this life upon our heavenly state. 
A large number obtained an inheritance among those that 
are sanctified by faith. Acts xxvi. 18. 

Numerous cases of restitution have lately occurred, from 
the small sum of a few shillings, ranging upwards to fifty 
pounds sterling ; but I fear a relation of the circumstances 
connected with each case would be tedious and uninterest- 
ing. I am sure, however, you will rejoice with me, and 
these precious English Christians, who take a hearty interest 
in this wonderful revival, as well as with the angelic host, in 
" the growing empire of our King." My soul is very happy 
in God. A revival is the element in which I delight to 



352 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

breathe ; but all hell, as a matter of course, is set in arms \ 
against my innovations. The devil is performing, in these 
days, several extraordinary evolutions to counteract aggres- 
sive movements. The design seems to be, a vigorous efforf 
to hedge up my way by prejudicing the minds of some good 
men. Many reports are afloat that I have effected a sepa- 
ration between the American church and myself. Letters 
reach me from various quarters, that some intend to make 
my way rough in England.* My answer to those who 
trouble me is, they cannot do it and prosper, unless God 
permit ; and even then their eye must be single. 

My soul is sweetly assured, that no weapon that is formed 
against me shall prosper; but, if wielded through envy, or 
jealousy, or any unreasonable dislike, and contrary to the 
single eye, which regards the glory of God only, the Lord 
will bring it, and the hand that wields it, into confusion. 

* As if God designed it for a providential defence of Mr. Caughey against 
these malevolent opposers of revivals, the following letter from the venerable 
Bishop Hedding, reached him a few months after, and greatly strengthened 
him against his foes. — Ed. 

" Trenton, New Jersey, U. S., April 23, 1844. 
" Eev. James Caughet : 

" My dear Brother, — Yonr letter to the Rev. E. Chichester now lies 
before me. I am thankful for the great work God has wrought through your 
labors in Ireland and England. 

" You were regularly located, at your own request, as a minister in good 
standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, by act of the Troy Annual Con- 
ference, of which you were a member. And if you return to this country, 
with proper testimonials of your good conduct, you would be joyfully received 
as a member of the Conference and a regular travelling preacher, as such 
location and return to the travelling connection is perfectly consistent with 
our rules and usages. 

" Thousands would rejoice to see you return, and unite with us again in the 
work of God in this country. 

" The work of God prospers in this land. May God bless and prosper you 
wherever you labor ! 

" Your affectionate brother in Christ, 

" Elijah Hedding." 



GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 353 

This is my heritage of the Lord. This he has promised me, 
and in him I trust. The cause is his, and I shall keep to 
the one thing for which he sent me out — the conversion of 
sinners to himself; and shall leave the weight of such mat- 
ters to him. I am ready, to leave England, and to return 
to America, upon the least clear intimation from Heaven. 
Here I rest my cause. It has been suggested to my mind, 
perhaps the Lord is now about to thrust me back from 
whence I came, seeing that the work is accomplished he hath 
sent me over to perform. Let my gracious Lord determine, 
and I stand ready gladly to obey. Cheerfully would I haste 
away across the mighty deep, could I but clearly see the 
will of my divine Master; but my conscience stands in 
dread of the consequences of retreating from these kingdoms 
before the Lord has signed and sealed my passport. 

We commenced a series of services in another chapel on 
the Hull West Circuit, — Great Thornton Street chapel, — 
on Sabbath, 18th instant ; and since then, about one hun- 
dred sinners have been converted to God, and about fifty 
sanctified throughout — soul, body, and spirit. 

On Monday, the 25th instant, an old man, nearly seventy 
years of age, called upon me for advice. He stated that, 
during several months past, he had been tempted, in the 
most uncontrollable manner, to commit murder, by way 
of vengeance. An individual, it seems, in this town, had 
wronged him in some lawsuit, by which he lost his character, 
and it had driven him to desperation. " When I pass him 
upon the street,'' said the old man, " I turn round, and pray 
that all the curses contained in the one hundred and ninth 
Psalm may fall upon him and his family. A few days ago," 
he added, " when walking on the Pier Head, I prepared 
myself to attempt his and my own destruction ; and had he 
not at- the moment linked arms with another gentleman, I 
30* 



354 GLORIOUS WORK OF 30D IN HULL. 

should have clasped him in my arms, and leaped with him 
into the Humber. A short time since, I loaded a pistol, 
and waylaid him, and would have blown his brains out, had 
he not escaped me by taking another way." 

Poor man ! I endeavored to draw aside the veil ; and 
God enabled me to show his amazed conscience how a 
malignant devil had been operating in the dark, and with a 
settled and infernal purpose of bringing him to an ignomini- 
ous end, and his soul into a terrible hell. "My aged 
man ! you are a sinner, and you know it. Your own tres- 
passes against God have been great and many ; and, be 
assured, if you cannot forgive a fellow creature his offences 
against you, neither will God forgive yours against him. 
With the Lord's Prayer, I presume, you are familiar ; — 
forget not that part of it, ' Forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive them that trespass against us.' Remember, also, my 
dear Sir, that this is the only passage in that beautiful 
prayer upon which our Saviour thought proper to make any 
comment ; and what he says is most emphatic : ' for, if ye 
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father 
forgive your trespasses.' Leave the matter with God. Pray 
for your enemy, but avenge not yourself, or you will bring 
your gray hairs with sorrow and dishonor to the grave ; 
neither give place unto wrath ; because it is written, l Ven- 
geance belongeth unto me, and I will recompense, saith the 
Lord.' i Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' " 

After prayer, he departed, solemnly affected, and I trust, 
either delivered from his purpose, or at least firmly resolved 
to struggle against the horrible impulse. Who can tell but; 
this conversation may save two souls from perdition ? — and 
this is worth my visit to Hull. 

You will be gratified to learn, that the Lord continues his 
great goodness to me, with regard to providing me comfort- 






GLOKIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 355 

able homes in a strange land. At the house of Mr. William. 
Field, Market Place, Mr. West, Holderness Road, Mr. 
\James Crow, Beverly Road, and at the mansion of Mr. 
Thomas Holmes, where I am at present, I have been enter- 
tained in a most hospitable manner. In the lovely families 
of these kind and generous friends, I have enjoyed every 
comfort I could desire. May the God of grace and provi- 
dence reward them for their great kindness to me, his 
unworthy servant ! 

I have, also, since the beginning of the year, spent a few 
(weeks in the house of the Rev. William Illingworth, one 
of the ministers on the East Circuit. With him and his 
devoted wife I enjoyed much of the presence of God, 
"the communion of saints, the fellowship of kindred minds," 
in a very high degree. 

" 0, to grace how great a debtor, 
Daily I'm constrained to be ! " 

I cannot express my circumstances and state of mind better, 
than in the words of Bishop Hall : " There is a holy 
carelessness, free from idleness, free from distrust." 

You have heard of the peculiar beauty of the English 
[hoarfrost. A few mornings since, when enjoying a walk 
i into the country, I was favored with a rare opportunity of 
observing this transitory, yet wonderful production of nature, 
" frost-work fair, where transient hues, and fancied figures 
srise." Every branch, and slender twig of tree, thorn, and 
shrub; each herb, leaf, and blade of grass, was adorned 
with those light and feathery, all-pervading, "myriads of 
little salts, or hooked, or shaped, the various labors of the 
silent night ; " as if in imitation of all that "vernal sun" 
awakes on " forest bough or bladed field," when moist with 
the "light-footed dew3 * of summer's earliest morn. The 



356 GLORIOUS WORK OF GOD IN HULL. 

atmosphere was still and pure, and the soft and filmy veil 
which obscured the sky, protected the fairy scene from 
being dissipated or destroyed too soon by the rays of the 
ascending sun. 

My soul was very happy in beholding this lovely scene. 
Every object contributed to fill my soul with gratitude and 
joy ; and God had all my heart. Sometimes my joy in God 
was ecstatic ; but it was not that kind of joy which, as a 
fine writer says, " Often usurps the name of joy ; a trivial, 
vanishing, superficial thing, that only gilds the apprehension, 
and plays upon the surface of the soul ; not the mere crack- 
ling of thorns under a pot, a sudden blaze of the spirits, the 
exultation of a tickled fancy or a pleased appetite;" it 
penetrated my nature, and diffused itself throughout my 
soul. Apart from the splendor of nature around me, " it 
was the result of a real good suitably applied ; it was a joy 
that feasted upon the solidities of truth, and the substance 
of fruition; it filled the soul as God does the universe ;" I 
cannot say " silently and without noise," for there was a 
shout now and again, " refreshing and composing as the 
mirth of a festival with the silence of contemplation." 

We shall resume the subject of the Hull revival in the 
next chapter. 






CHAPTER XXI. 

SCENES AND INCIDENTS OE THE HULL REVIVAL. 

" Before honor is humility," saith the Eternal "Word. 
Ir. Caughey's experience in Hull affords a fine illustration 
f this truth. His opening efforts there were despised and 
almost rejected. His humbled heart sunk to its lowliest 
attitude ; feeling anew its long-abiding conviction, that man 
lalone is nothing — God every thing I His prayers, exhor- 
tations, and sermons inspired the praying men of the church 
with the same powerful idea. They called upon God like 
pen who meant what they expressed, and who felt all they 
acknowledged. This was meeting God on his own terms, 
i and never did Jehovah honor the faith of the creature in a 
;;more marked manner than he did in some of the wonderful 
f scenes of the Hull revival. Let the minister or layman, who 
t reads this chapter, keep these views before him, and he may 
[jlearn a precious lesson which may yield fruit to the honor 
[land glory of God. But we will again suffer Mr. Caughey 
to relate his own story : — 

You will glorify God when I inform you that the revival 
' is still going on in Hull with increasing power. Hundreds 

of sinners have been converted to God since the date of my 
' last to you. The devil has been showing his teeth, also, and 

roaring ; but he has neither liberty to bite nor devour 



■ The withered, dark, defeated mind, 
That curses Heaven and scorns mankind. 



357 



358 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

One of the Hull newspapers has lent its columns to attack s 
me, and calls upon the authorities of the town to interfere, r 
and put me down. The gentlemen, however, have better 
sense, and too much of the fear of God, to meddle with the i 
work in which I am engaged. Some of the wicked have 
threatened to " drum me out of the town ; " but their pru> 
clence, it would seem, has questioned the propriety of obeying 
this mandate of the devil to the letter ; so the matter has 
been deferred in the councils of the ungodly. Chagrined 
that he cannot command physical force, by raising a mob, as 
in former times, the evil one vents his spleen through the 
medium of anonymous letters, most of which are impudent f 
and insulting, beyond any thing you can imagine. But none 
of these things move me. A good fire in the grate soon re- 
duces these harmless missiles to ashes ; and, when blazing there, 
my prayer ascends to heaven, that these silly dupes of the 
devil may never burn in hell. Now, I consider this excellent 
revenge on Satan ; because God is able to overrule such cow- 
ardly and malignant scrawls, for the awakening and conversion 
of the scribblers. I have known the wicked become fright- 
ened with the daringness of their folly, and return quickly to 
their offended God, " lest they should get into hell before the 
time." 

Now and then there is a letter displaying considerable 
talent, as if Apollyon had a little vanity in showing that he 
has minds under his control far superior to the other scur- 
rilous dogs, whom he usually employs to do his dirtiest work. 

Some occasionally throw down the gauntlet, and invite me 
into the arena of controversy ; but my reply irritates both 
the sinners and their masters : " I am doing a great work, so 
that I cannot come down : why should the work cease, 
whilst I leave it, and come down to you ? " Neh. vi. 3. 

We may say of this revival, as a certain learned judge 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 859 

i3aid of justice ; that though opposed, and in some measure, 
retarded by interested parties, yet it is like a river, which, 
though its surface is broken and ruffled into waves by 
Contrary and boisterous winds, yet holds on its way with 
:tesistless force. All the opposition of men or devils seems 
■:kicapable of interposing any effectual barrier against its 
:friumphant progress. Hallelujah ! "I am not ashamed of 
:the gospel of Christ " in Hull, " for it is the power of God 
innto salvation to every one that belie veth." 
. The truth of the living God in its burning power, is being 
thrown among sinners daily. Some of the hottest shot 
from the magazines of Immanuel have been cast into their 
entrenchments ; and the execution has been tremendous. 
The roaring of the artillery has no sooner ceased, than the 
sides of the wounded, supplicating for mercy, are heard on 
3very side, until my soul has trembled before the Lord God 
:>f hosts. Ah ! the human mind is a fearful thing. And I 
have thought, in the midst of the uproar of terrified sinners, 
that if the living coals of eternal truth, scattered over the 
aaked consciences of the ungodly, produce such effects, 
even though there is hope throughout their agonies, and 
their ears are filled with the cheering accents of the gospel, 
from the lips of so many servants of God, how terrible, 
then, must the effect of hell fire be, when long resisted 
Truth shall call upon eternity to vindicate its rights ! 

On the night of the 6th instant, in Great Thornton Street 
chapel, an exhortation was given before the text, on the 
absolute necessity of an increase of the spirit of prayer 
among the people of God, in order to the continuance of the 
revival. My soul was burdened and pressed down before 
the Lord, and I could only find relief, by telling them all 
that was in my heart — all that I considered as standing in 
the way of a larger outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The 



860 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

Lord helped me to speak words of fire, and that declaration 
of the Holy Spirit was accompanied with uncommon power, 
" for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her child- 
ren." Isaiah lxvi. 8. The congregation was then requested 
to kneel down, and spend a few minutes in silent prayer. 
Nearly all bowed, and the spirit of agonizing prayer came 
down upon the people in a wonderful manner. Ten minutes 
had scarcely elapsed, when the cries of penitent sinners 
began to mingle with the earnest pleadings of God's servants. 
The hand of the Lord rested upon the entire audience. 
None moved from the place, though some looked unutterable 
things. Earnest prayer ascended from almost every part 
of the chapel, even from the galleries, to a perfect tempest 
of human voices. Zion was now travailing for the salvation 
of sinners, and we were afraid to interfere. We left the 
people safe with God ; although he seemed to say, " Let me 
go, for the day breaketh." " They cannot let thee go, my 
Lord! Hear, hear their cries, my gracious Master! Hast 
thou not said, ' Agonize to enter in at the strait gate : for 
many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be 
able ? ' And hast thou not declared, < The kingdom of 
heaven suffereth violence,' — that is, permits it, invites to it, 
* and the violent take it by force ? ' So far from spurning 
away the eager multitude, or resisting their vehemence as 
irreverent, and derogatory to the glory of thy divine Majes- 
ty, thou must, thou wilt let them i take the blessing from 
above,' that they may ' wonder at thy boundless love,' — 
that they may adore thy matchless benevolence and love, in 
Jesus Christ our L©rd. 

' Their powerful groans thou canst not bear, 
Nor stand the violence of their prayer, — 
Their prayer omnipotent.' " 

The visitation lasted about three quarters of an hour. I 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HlTLL REVIVAL. 361 

watched the amazing scene with holy awe and indescribable 
emotion, till the many hundreds of voices seemed to have 
arrived at that point peculiar to prevailing prayer — when 
it appeared as if God was speaking to each stormy soul, 
"Peace, be still ! — what is thy name ? — what wilt thou 
that I should do for thee ? " And from the gradual descent 
and mellowing tones of many voices, — softening down like 
" the noise of many waters," — there could be no doubt, their 
subdued answers received his approbation, and that he was 
saying to every wrestling Jacob, "Be it unto thee even as 
thou wilt ; thy name shall be no more Jacob, but Israel : 
for, as a prince, hast thou power with God and with men, 
and hast prevailed." Gen. xxxii. 28. 

At this moment, the powerful organ, accompanied by the 
voiots of a triumphant multitude, pealed forth, — 

" See how great a flame aspires, 

Kindled by a spark of grace ! 
Jesu's love the nation fires, 

Sets the kingdoms in a blaze : 
To bring fire on earth he came ; 

Kindled in some hearts it is : 
O that all might catch the flame, 

All partake the glorious bliss 1 ! " 

Tho chapel was filled with the glory of God, and every 
face wore the heavenly expression, " Lo, God is here ! But 
how dreadful is this place ! This is none other than the 
house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Gen. 
xxviii. 17. 

Solio there were, it is true, who yet groaned, "0 
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the 
body of this death ? God have mercy upon me, a sinner ! " 
But, before the meeting closed, they also were enabled to 
rejoice in a pardoning God. 
31 



362 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

A few days ago I received the following affecting letter 
from an inhabitant of this town : — 

"Hull, March 11, 1844. 

" Rev. Sir, — Having received information that you 

desired to have some account of the death of our beloved 

son, George Young, we proceed to give it ; but first allow us 

to state what, I am sure, will be deeply interesting to you. 

" On the 12th December last, while sitting under your 
sermon, from this text, ' This year thou shalt die,' it pleased 
God to give him to see his awful condition as a sinner. From 
that moment, he could not rest ; and, after the sermon, he 
went into the vestry, and, blessed be God, peace was spoken 
to his soul, through faith in the blood of the Lamb ; and, up 
to his death, I believe he has been growing in grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

"On the morning of the day in which he lost his life, 
(March 9th, 1844,) he left home for the factory, singing, — 

1 This, this is the God "we adore, 

Our faithful, unchangeable Friend ; 
Whose love is as great as his power, 

And neither knows measure nor end. 
'Tis Jesus, the First and the Last, 

Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home ; 
We'll praise him for all that is past, 

And trust him for all that 's to come.* 

He entered into eternity about ten minutes past nine that 
same morning. 

" The manner of his death was as follows : We have been 
informed by the overseer of the mill, that there is a shaft 
which runs from one end of the room to the other, about 
three feet from the ceiling, with a drum attached to it. 
While our dear son was in the act of putting the strap upon 
this drum, his hand got entangled in the strap, and he was 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 363 

taken round the shaft, which is a horizontal one, going at 
the rate of one hundred and thirty-eight revolutions per 
minute, as near as could be calculated. He was on the 
shaft about one minute and a half, so that he could not have 
gone round less than two hundred times, before the ma- 
chinery was stopped ; after which, he was carried to the 
Hull General Infirmary, pouring out his soul in prayer to 
God — not to be relieved from his bodily sufferings, but to 
be taken home to heaven. Medical aid was immediately 
procured, when it was found his shoulder blade was forced 
out of its place, his arm broken in two places, also his thigh, 
foot, and ankle — all broken, and his body most dreadfully 
crushed, so that the surgeon gave up all hopes of his 
recovery. 

" We, his parents, followed him to the Infirmary, and 
when he saw us, he cried, 'Father! — mother! pray for 
me ; ' which we did. We inquired with deep anxiety, as to 
the state of his soul ; he was happy in the love of God. 
6 Are you afraid to die, my dear son ? ' He replied, ' No : 
but I want to sleep ; ' then added, ' I shall sleep in the arms 
of Jesus.' After which, he prayed repeatedly, ' Lord, take 
me to thyself! ' and, turning his eyes towards heaven, he 
exclaimed, ' Glory ! Glory ! ' and expired. 

"He was in his sixteenth year, and was ever a most 
obedient child. In the year 1842, he became a Sabbath 
school scholar in the Drypool Wesleyan chapel — was much 
respected by the superintendents and teachers, and received 
a copy of the New Testament, as a premium for memor zing 
the greater part of the Gospel according to St. John. He 
used to repeat between twenty and thirty verses each Sab- 
bath afternoon, which he had committed to memory through 
the week, though employed from six in the morning till seven 
at night. He accomplished it by carrying the New Testa 



364 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OE THE HULL REVIVAL. 

ment always in his pocket, so that it was always at hand 
for a spare moment. He was a member of the Wesleyan 
church at the time of his death. 

" We remain, dear Sir, your obedient servants, 

" Richard and Mary Young." 

How unsearchable are the judgments of God, and his 
ways are past finding out ! What a frightful death to come 
upon one but newly adopted into his family ! But the Judge 
of all the earth has done right. " Though clouds and dark- 
ness are round about him, justice and judgment are the 
habitation of his throne." 

Last night I enjoyed a most powerful time, on the sub- 
ject of entire sanctification. About fifty professed to obtain 
salvation. 

The Lord is very good to my soul. Although I have 
various temptations and threatenings from the great adver- 
sary of God and man, he enables me often to rejoice with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

" I have a secret joy that flows 
Against the tide of common overthrows ; 
I have a sealed, sacred peace, 
Beyond the power of hell, sin, and disease ! " 

I am glad to learn, that Mrs. * * * has found a situation 
f.o much to her mind. I am quite of the opinion of that 
wise Athenian, who, having a farm to sell, directed the crier 
to proclaim, as its best recommendation, that it had a good 
neighoorhood. I cannot think the smallness of the house 
any great disadvantage, that is, if there be sufficient room 
for herself and family, and some to spare for the accommo- 
dation of a few friends. You recollect the sentiment of 
Socrates, who, when asked why he had built for himself 
such a small house, replied, " Small as it is, I wish I could 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 3^5 

fill it with friends." " These," says a judicious writer, 
"are all that a wise man can desire to assemble; for a 
crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pic- 
tures, and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no 
love." " I confess," says Cowley, "I love littleness almost 
in all things ; a little convenient estate, a little cheerful 
home, a little company, and a very little feast." 

****** 

What follows is from a letter to his sister, and carries the 
history of his movements down 'towards the close of April, 
1844. 

The date of my letter shows my birth month, (April.) I 
have just been thinking of the sentiment of a poet in refer- 
ence to the changeableness of April ; and although it is 
quite inapplicable to the present weather, as it is the most 
delightful that ever cheered the heart of man, and has been 
since the month began, yet, from the varied feelings of my 
unsteady nature, I have been sometimes superstitious enough 
to think that it may have received a tinge from my native 
April. This is only imaginary. But hear the poet: — 

" Checkered your native month appears, 
"With sunny gleams, and cloudy tears ; 
'Tis thus the world our trust beguiles, 
Its frowns as transient as its smiles ; 
Nor pain nor pleasure long will stay, 
For life is but an April day." 

On the night of the 8th instant, I held, as usual, a private 
"watch-night" in my room. I anticipated much good to 
my soul from a retrospect of the past, and renewing my 
resolutions to be more faithful during the coming year. My 
mind, however, became greatly oppressed, and I had very 
little of the spirit of prayer. The cause of this I could not 
tell, unless it arose from the exhaustion of the previous 
31* 



366 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL KEVIVAL. 

Sabbath; as my Mondays are sometimes characterized by 
this feeling. My birthday was ushered in with deep humil- 
iation of soul, and some gratitude to God for the mercies of 
the past year ; but neither were in that degree which my 
past unfaithfulness, and the goodness of my gracious and 
long-suffering Lord, demanded. With earnest resolves to be 
more faithful and more entirely devoted to him the coming 
year of my life, I was enabled to make an unreserved dedi- 
cation of body, soul, and spirit, to the service of that God, 
whose favor is better than life. I then opened on the fifth 
chapter of Daniel, and read it upon my knees, with very 
solemn feelings. 

The revival is advancing with great power in this town. 
We are now holding special services in Great Thornton 
Street chapel, which is the fifth chapel I have visited since 
my arrival in Hull. I have preached in the above chapel 
every night, with the exception of Mondays and Saturdays, 
during the last eight or nine weeks. On the 3d instant we 
held a meeting for the new converts, similar to that which I 
described to you in my letter from Cork. There were pres- 
ent about four hundred persons, every one of whom was 
happy in the pardoning love of God. This may give you 
some idea of the rapidity and extent of the work, as all 
these were converted to God during the previous eight or 
nine weeks ; but there were many others, who had found 
peace during the same time, who could not be present at 
this meeting. Some were detained by the business of their 
employers, some with their own business. There were, 
also, several sailors saved, who had gone to sea ; four in one 
ship, besides nearly one hundred from the country circuits. 
Letters from some of these were read in the meeting, which 
produced an excellent effect. 

On Friday, the 12th instant, I delivered a temperance. 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OE THE HULL REVIVAL. 867 

lecture, in behalf of the Hull Total Abstinence Society, in 
the Town Hall ; the mayor having kindly granted it for the 
occasion. The place was densely crowded, and I have 
seldom seen so much enthusiasm manifested in a good cause, 
as during the address. The Lord blessed me exceedingly, 
and gave me great liberty of speech. 

At the close of the lecture, a very respectable member 
of the Society of Friends arose, and, in the midst of the 
most profound silence, stated that he was a dealer in British 
wines, in the town of Hull; that he had had scruples 
respecting the trade for some time ; that some had asserted 
these wines were not intoxicating in their qualities, but he 
knew to the contrary. " And now," he said, " although I 
shall sustain a loss in the abandonment of the traffic, yet I 
shall do so from the present night. I have a quantity of 
wine in my cellar, how much, or what the value I am not 
able to state ; but I cannot sell it, and be consistent ; " and 
turning to the gentleman, in the chair, he said, " Friend, 
thee may send thy horse and cart for it to-morrow, and take 
it away, and do what thee pleases with it." 

The effect upon the assembled multitudes was tremendous. 
, A few minutes after this, the majority of the meeting were 
I lifting up their hands to heaven, as a pledge, that from that 
ihour they renounced the use of all intoxicating drinks. I 
! have no doubt that, could we have held a few more meetings 
of a similar kind, the liquor trade and intemperance would 
have received a blow from which they would not have 
recovered for a long time to come. And yet, I have found 
some good people lately, who, notwithstanding that the hor- 
rors of the trade and of the habit referred to are staring 
them in the face daily, would have seriously deprecated a 
series of such temperance meetings, let the results be as 
they might. Poor inconsistent human nature ! Wp must 



368 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

have charity; but, really, it requires a stretch of it on 
behalf of those, who, for fashion's sake, and for the privilege 
of sipping a little wine, and treating their visitors to that 
which may prove their ruin, as it has done to hundreds of 
thousands, would not only shut themselves out from taking 
any part in this great and glorious temperance reformation, 
but weaken the hands of those who are engaged in its pro 
motion. But this is not all. Such persons not only cripple 
themselves from doing any thing to help it forward, but, for 
consistency's sake, they are absolutely forced into opposition 
to what, in their secret consciences, they cannot but allow 
to be the safest and speediest method to dry up this principal 
source of all the poverty and crime, and of the physical, 
mental, and moral degradation, which scourges our unhappy 
world, in the nineteenth century. 

Many undertake to lecture me upon the injury they ap- 
prehend my health is sustaining, from not helping myself to 
a little wine, in time of exhaustion. My reply is, I seldom 
feel any thing of the kind since I renounced the use of 
alcoholic stimulants ; but when I do feel any thing like feeble- 
ness, a little rest, with some nourishing food, and some simple 
drink, such as milk, water, or a cup of tea or coffee, very 
soon elevate " tired nature " into the proper tone, without 
goading it with alcohol. It is with these intoxicating drinks, 
as with physic ; accustom nature to them, and she will grad- 
ually cease to depend upon her own resources, and will rely 
upon what is unnatural and artificial. " But you will yet be 
forced to come down from those elevated sentiments," say 
some, " and use a little wine for your stomach's sake, and 
your often infirmities." Be it so ; and were it ordered me 
by a physician, I might be induced to take it as a medicine 
for a time, if nothing else would do. Nor, in such a case, 
would it be fail* for any one to say I had abandoned the prin- 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL KEVIVAL. 369 

ciple. But I certainly would cease from the medicine as 
soon as possible, or set myself down as a " confirmed in- 
valid." Let my future course be as it may, I intend 
to take the stand occupied by the devoted Timothy, who 
would not taste a single drop of wine, except at the sac- 
rament, till ordered by the highest authority in the church 
— St. Paul — not as a beverage, but as a medicine. Now, 
perhaps, if the apostle were upon the earth, and acquainted 
with my constitution, and with the nature of the wines and 
other intoxicating drinks sold in these kingdoms, he would 
lay just as positive an injunction upon James Caughey, that, 
for his " stomach's sake " he must refrain from their use en- 
tirely. But, as I do not expect to enjoy a correspondence 
with St. Paul till I meet him in heaven, I am not to be 
blamed if I stand as firm by my tee-total principles as did 
heavenly-minded Timothy, till convinced by an authority, if 
not so high, yet such as my reason must respect. 

If any man in Europe has given tee-totalism a fair trial, I 
nave done so, during those extraordinary labors in which 
I have been so long engaged. My health, thank God, was 
never better, nor my spirits in a livelier state, than at present. 
Nor shall I, without the most convincing reasons, lay down a 
great moral power which God has given me in the ranks of 
my temperance brethren. Instead of croaking and whining 
over the real or supposed errors or inconsistencies of some of 
the tee-totallers, in substituting the principle for religion, and 
using harsh language and measures, where milder would be 
more effective, I will plunge in among them, as thorough- 
going a tee-totaller as any of them — convince, if possible, 
my beloved friends, where they may be wrong, and neu- 
tralize their errors by the eternal truths of Christianity. 
Bui this they never would allow, were they suspicious of 
my being in the habit of taking these intoxicating drinks. 



370 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

Now, I do consider this a very valuable 'vantage ground ; 
nor shall I abandon it without the strongest reasons. 

On Sabbath, the 14th instant, I returned to the Kingston 
cbapel, and spent the day there, preaching twice. The 
crowd of people was amazing. Many could not get in, and 
went away. In the afternoon, we had a prayer meeting. 
The lower part of the chapel was full, and there were many 
in the gallery. 

In a certain part of the meeting, while the congregation 
was standing, and the altar-rail was encompassed by penitents, 
the people were addressed upon the necessity of an immediate 
and universal cry to God for a more copious outpouring of 
the Holy Spirit. The exhortation was short — only about 
three minutes — but to the point, and full of divine unction. 
" And now," said the exhorter, " down upon your knees, 
every man, woman, and child of you." Here ensued one 
of the most majestic scenes I ever witnessed — a simultane- 
ous motion of more than one thousand people, struggling to 
get to their knees — some half bent, others rapidly moving 
in that position, to find a place to kneel. They seemed, in 
fact, like an army rushing to battle. The Rev. Mr. Thomp- 
son remarked to me, as we were standing together in the 
reading desk at the moment, that it was one of the finest and 
sublimest sights that he ever beheld. In a few moments the 
glory of God seemed to fill the chapel ; but eternity alone 
must unfold the wonderful effects of that afternoon's ser- 
vice. 

Yesterday forenoon, I preached again in the Kingston 
chapel, in behalf of the Chapel Trust Fund. Although a 
week-day service, the congregation was very large, and com 
posed of most of the denominations in town. The Lord gave 
me great liberty on Romans viii. 15, 16. The collection 
was noble. 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 371 

The following letter and resolution show the estimate set 
on Mr. Caughey's labors by the official members of the Wes- 
leyan churches in Hull. 

"Hull, March 26, 1844. 
" To the Rev. James Caughey. 
"Dear Sir, 

" We have great pleasure in handing over to you a copy 
1 of a resolution, passed unanimously, at the Quarterly Meet- 
ing of the Hull West Circuit, held yesterday in the vestry 
1 of Waltham Street chapel ; and in doing so, we beg to offer 
S our sincere and best wishes for your health and happiness, as 
'; well as for the blessing of the great Head of the church on 
! all your future endeavors to promote his glory, in the salva- 
! tion of immortal souls. 

" We remain dear Sir, yours in the bonds of Christian 
love and affection, 

"Jno. S. Richardson, ) Circuit 



Thomas Henwood, j Stewards." 
" Hull West Circuit Quarterly-Meeting, held in the vestry 

of Waltham Street chapel, on Monday, the 25th of 

March, 1844. 

" The Rev. Thomas Martin in the chair. 

" Resolved, That this meeting acknowledges, with devout 
gratitude to Almighty God, the success which it has pleased 
him to vouchsafe to the special religious services instituted of 
late, and still continued in this Circuit ; and, in connection 
therewith, feels called upon to offer its best thanks to the 
Rev. Thomas Martin, the esteemed superintendent of this 
Circuit, and to his colleagues, the Rev. William Hurt and 
the Rev. Daniel West. This meeting further presents its 
most grateful acknowledgments to the Rev. James Caughey, 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church of America, for his very 
valuable services in this Circuit during the last three months ; 



372 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

which, in connection with the special meetings already re- 
ferred to, having been greatly owned of God to the awaken 
ing and conversion of many sinners. 
" Signed on behalf of the meeting, 

" Jno. S. Richardson, ) Circuit 
Thomas Henwood, ] Stewards.' 1 

Towards the last of April, 1844, Mr. Caughey brought his 
labors in Hull to a termination. We insert the following 
account of the closing scenes. 

My labors in Hull were brought to a conclusion during the 
last week in April, by preaching farewell sermons in three of 
the chapels. The crowds were tremendous, and the affection 
of the people unbounded ; especially that of the new con- 
verts. It was with the greatest difficulty the brethren could 
extricate me from the multitudes which surrounded the car- 
riage on my departure from Great Thornton Street chapel. 
I can scarcely convey to you any idea of the scene. Had I 
staid to shake hands with but one half of those who 
desired it, I should not have got off before midnight. The 
excitement of mind was nearly too much for me. Were I to 
let my pen have freedom to express all the love that burns 
in my bosom toward the people of Hull, and the reasons for 
this warmth of affection, this letter would extend to an 
unreasonable length. Noble, generous, royal, enthusiastic 
Hull ! We sometimes talk of the ardor and enthusiasm of 
the Irish people ; but in these respects, Hull and her chil- 
dren might be set down, side by side, with any city or town 
in the Emerald Isle. 

As to the extent of the revival, as near as could be ascer- 
tained from records carefully kept during its progress, two 
thousand three hundred persons obtained justification, of 
whom, seventeen hundred were from the world ; more than 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 373 

one thousand of these united with the Wesleyan Church in 
( Hull. The remainder of the converts from the world were 
From several country Circuits in Lincolnshire and parts of 
Yorkshire ; most of whom, it is hoped, have united with the 
j [)hurch in their respective neighborhoods, and many united 
with other churches in Hull. Six hundred persons belong- 
ing to the Wesleyan and other churches, were also converted 
during the revival. What the final results may be, or how 
these new converts will stand, time or perhaps eternity aloDe 
can unfold ; but, certainly, the work bears every feature cf 
its having been wrought of God. It is admitted, that some 
Imay have been deceived as to their conversion ; others may 
hereafter bear too strict a resemblance to those by no means 
singular cases, connected with that great revival so strikingly 
illustrated by our Lord, in Matthew xiii. 1 ; yet, very much, 
under God, will depend upon the pastoral faithfulness of the 
ministers, as well as the individual exertions of the leaders 
of classes on the two Hull Circuits. 

To the ministers I could say little on leaving. I felt I 
could rather take my place at their feet. My soul., as it 
always is in a revival, and in proportion to my success, was 
deeply humbled before God and man. Several opportuni- 
ties, however, were afforded me, before I left the town, of 
exhorting the leaders to take special care of the new converts 
Mr. and Mrs. Morley very kindly invited a large company 
to meet me at tea in their house ; and the following evening 
my excellent host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas 
Holmes, afforded me the same delightful privilege at their 
mansion. These happy interviews shall never be forgotten. 
Through the kindness of the Rev. Robert Thompson, Super- 
intendent of the East Circuit, I enjoyed a similar interview 
with the leaders and local preachers in the band-room at 
George Yard chapel. But the " crowning meeting of all " 
32 



B74 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OP THE HULL REVIVAL. 

was afforded by the generosity of my late host and hostess, 
Mr. and Mrs. James Crow. The tea was given in a large 
upper room of one of his buildings. The company was large 
and highly respectable ; composed of local preachers, class- 
ieaders, and friends — one of the happiest seasons of the 
kind I have ever enjoyed. I poured out my heart before 
them, begging and entreating them, with the deepest emotion, 
to spare no pains, that those lately brought to God 
might be preserved from going back into the world. Four 
evenings were spent in this way most agreeably with the 
leaders. The manner in which they individually responded 
to my requests and anxious feelings, is too deeply engraven 
upon my heart ever to be erased. Here I must leave the 
matter for the present. " If I be bereaved of my children, 
I am bereaved." Satan often tells me there will be many 
who will backslide in Hull, and that, in consequence thereof, 
my God will yet humble me among them. But I can onlvl 
turn my weeping eyes to God and say, — 

" Thou seest their wants, thou knowest their names, 
Be mindful of thy youngest care ; 
Be tender of the new-born lambs, 
And gently in thy bosom bear. 
The lion roaring for his prey, 
With ravening wolves on every side, 
Watch over them to tear and slay, 
If found one moment from their guide. 
Satan his thousand arts essays, 
His agents all their powers employ 
To blast the blooming work of grace, 
The heavenly offspring to destroy. 
Baffle the crooked serpent's skill, 
And turn his sharpest darts aside ; 
Hide from their eyes the devilish ill ; 
O, save them from the demon Pride. 
In safety lead thy little flock 
From hell, the world, and sin secure j 
And set their feet upon the rock, 
And make in thee their goings sure ! ** 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OE THE HULL REVIVAL. 375 

( j Having left Hull, Mr. Caughey revisited his old friends in 
Leeds. It was only a flying visit, but the account is interest- 
ing, as it illustrates the permanency of the Leeds revival. 
fie says : 

si 

9 j I spent the last Sabbath of April in Leeds, and preached 

in St. Peter's chapel, morning and evening. During the 

j forenoon discourse, most of the congregation were bathed in 

j tears. The house was filled with the glory of God. I have 

j never revisited a place where greater affection was manifest- 

; ed towards me, nor more confidence in the sincerity of my 

^efforts to save souls. This was contrary rather to what I 

^expected. From the reports which had reached me of the 

jgrievous " falling away " of the new converts, I apprehend- 

|ed my influence in Leeds must have been greatly impaired. 

| This, however, was far from being the case. The friends 

from all parts of the town were present, and so were very 

many of my spiritual children ; and great was our joy and 

rejoicing in the Lord. 

I was much affected at seeing Mrs. Shann in the congre- 
gation, with part of her family. You will remember the 
name, as from my letters you learned that I stopped at her 
house during part of my stay in Leeds. The death of Mr. 
Shann, which occurred about four months ago, was sudden. 
Having been called to London on business, he was taken with 
a sickness which terminated in death. His family arrived 
in London a few days before he died. His end was not only 
peaceful but triumphant. I well remember the night, dur- 
ing the revival in Brunswick chapel, when he came forward 
to the altar, with many others, to seek salvation. The text 
was, " How long halt ye between two opinions ? " While 
kneeling there with several others of his family, he obtained 
an evidence, clear and satisfactory, that God, for Christ's 



876 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 

sake, had forgiven his sins, and had adopted him into his 
family, The fear of the Lord had been before his eyes for 
many years ; but till that memorable night, he had not en- 
joyed, I believe, a conscious sense of the pardoning love of 
God. A part of his family, with himself, united with the 
Methodist church immediately ; and, with all the simplicity 
of one but newly found in Christ, he declared, from week to 
week, what great things God had done for his soul. A few 
months passed away, and he was called to unite with the 
church triumphant. Mr. Shann stood high in the commer- 
cial world, as a gentleman of lofty principle and unsullied 
integrity. He showed me great kindness during my resi- 
dence in his hospitable house, for which I hope he will be 
rewarded in the resurrection of the just. Amen ! 

On the same night in which he died, being in Hull, I had 
a dream. I thought I was walking along a strange and 
lonely road. After passing a spot where four roads struck 
off in different directions, I turned and looked to my left, 
and saw Mr. Shann riding down one of the roads. He 
drove two fine horses of dappled gray, which were attached to 
a large piece of timber elevated on wheels. He was seated 
on the timber, driving rapidly; and after waving several 
adieus with his hand, he dashed onward, and was soon out 
of sight. As he was disappearing from my eyes, these 
words reached my ear : " He is in great haste to pay a debt." 
I awoke with the deep impression resting upon my mind, 
"Mr. Shann is dead." In the morning, I told Mr. Field, at 
whose house I was then staying, that I believed one of my 
Leeds friends had passed into eternity. To his surprise, a 
few hours after, I presented him with a letter, which gave 
the account of the sudden death of Mr. Shann. 

While in Leeds I took occasion to inquire carefully into 
the truth of those reports which had been put into circulation 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 877 

i respecting the late revival ; and with a few slight exceptions, 
: I am happy to say they appeared to have no foundation in 
• truth. I had several conversations with intelligent individuals 
I on the subject. Their replies to my inquiries may be summed 
: up by quoting the substance of the remarks of one individual : 
-"In order, my dear Sir, to understand correctly the blessed 
effects of that revival, to the fullest extent, the state of the 
Wesleyan society in Leeds, previous to that remarkable out- 
pouring of the Spirit, should be considered. During two 
years which preceded that revival, in consequence of com- 
mercial distress and the consequent poverty of the people, 
together with removals, deaths, backslidings, and expulsions, 
we were going down at the rate of one hundred per quarter. 
You are aware the revival had begun in some parts of the 
Circuit and extended into the country before you came 
among us. The work advanced with greater power after 
your arrival ; and, after the quarterly visitation, we found 
the retrograde movement had been put a stop to, and we had 
a small increase, and many on trial. From that time, we 
have been gradually on the advance. It is admitted that a 
few of the new converts did go back to the world, and some 
whose names were on the list we never found ; but, that 
the revival has been a failure, and that the society is just 
where it was before, is a positive falsehood. We can present 
to friends and foes the convincing proof of our contradiction, 
by showing an increase on the year of five hundred mem- 
bers." 

Another said : " We are not after all to estimate the 
value of that revival so much by the mere numerical in- 
crease, as by the high tone of piety it has diffused through 
our church." 

I account for these reports thus : 1st. The conversion of 
fourteen or fifteen hundreds of people in the course of a few 
32* 



378 SCENES ANj^ INCIDENTS OP THE HULL REVIVAL. 

months, could not but be noised abroad. 2d. It was not 
generally known, that hundreds of these were members of 
the Wesleyan and of other churches in town and country. 
3d. It was expected, by those who did not understand the 
real character of the statistics, that a very large increase 
would be realized. 4th. As quarter succeeded quarter, such 
persons looked in vain for this great augmentation of numbers. 
5th. Unguarded and unqualified expressions were uttered in 
certain quarters, that the greater part of the converts could 
not be found, or had gone back to the world, because two 
out of a dozen, or three out of thirty, had refused to attend 
class, while the owners of several names could not be found : 
" Therefore the revival has resulted in a failure." Other 
causes might be given — but I forbear. 

I spent a most delightful Sabbath in Leeds. My old offi- 
cers, local preachers, and leaders, from all the circuits in 
town, rallied around me. God was with us in power, and 
many sinners were converted. A few of my children, who 
had been tempted by the devil into the road to hell, were re- 
claimed and brought back again, with many tears, into the 
path of heaven. 

Next day I returned to Hull by railway. When within 
about forty miles of Hull, the engineer, when pausing at a 
station, introduced himself to me as one of my children in 
the Lord. He requested me to ride a few miles with him on 
the platform of the locomotive, in order to see the machinery 
in motion. As we were flying along, he related his awaken- 
ing and conversion. When we came to a certain place, he 
said : " There ! that is the place where God set my soul at 
liberty. My agony of mind was very great. So much so, 
that when we stopped at a certain station, I ran from the 
engine into a retired place, and cried to God. When we 
started, I scarcely knew what I did, I was so wretched, 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL REVIVAL. 379 

I But my cry for mercy went up to heaven. When running, 
i Sir, at the rate of thirty miles an hour, God met me. The 
, rapidity of our motions was no hinderance. He spoke peace 
e to my soul, and in a moment my hell was turned into heaven, 
i and I rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory." The 
j above is but the substance of his experience. All glory be 
, to God! 

i On the first of this month, in company with the Rev. Wil- 
j liam Illingworth and wife, the Rev. John Vine and wife, and 
I a number of other friends, I enjoyed an excursion to Welton 
I Vale. 

The occasion of our visit arose from the kind invitation of 
1 Mr. and Mrs. William Field, at whose house I was first en- 
tertained on my arrival in Hull, and where I spent the last 
week of my stay in that town. They contrived the excur- 
i sion in order to celebrate the anniversary of their marriage, 
and also as a token of respect for your correspondent. We 
were favored with as lovely a day as our heavenly Father 
could have given us. " It was," as a poet has expressed it, 
" one of those heavenly days that cannot die." The scenery 
was beautified all the way with hill and dale, fine gardens, 
fruitful fields sprinkled with trees and fringed with woods, in 
which are nestled sweet cottages and elegant mansions ; the 
whole enlivened by extensive views of the Humber, visible 
from various points of elevation. 

Arriving at the Vale, we obtained permission from the pro- 
prietor to enter. After enjoying a few walks, traced out in 
many directions, and through a variety of romantic scenes, 
the cloth was spread upon the grass, beneath a refreshing 
shade, where we partook of an excellent dinner. The party 
then retired to a summer-house, commanding an extensive 
prospect. Beneath flowed the Humber ; the opposite shores 
displayed the hills and dales of Lincolnshire, with the " con- 



380 SCEHES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL KEVIVAL. 

fluence point " of the rivers Trent (if I recollect right) 
and Ouse witli the Humber. 

The happy couple were then addressed by several speak- 
ers, with numerous congratulations and hearty wishes for 
many happy returns of the season, all of which, I have no 
doubt, were felt ; and to which Mr. Field replied with very 
good grace. Our proceedings were, however, disturbed by 
the arrival of a messenger, stating that "the village had 
come into the vale," and that " they expected a sermon from 
Mr. Caughey." We found nearly two hundred people con- 
gregated beneath some shady trees on the brow of the hilL 
We walked into the midst of them and sang : — 

" My God, the spring of all my joys, 
The life of my delights, 
The glory of my brightest days, 
And comfort of my nights ! " 

After which, several of the brethren prayed, and I gave 
an exhortation. The dear people seemed much affected. 
When I requested those who were determined to meet us in 
heaven, to signify the same by raising the right hand heaven- 
ward, the sudden and universal show of hands gave 
evidence that the feeling and purpose were general. One 
person, I have since been informed, found peace during the 
service. We had a pleasant ride back to Hull, and had the 
privilege, at night, of hearing the Rev. Dr. Beaumont preach 
an excellent sermon in Kingston chapel. 

We cannot close this chapter better than by inserting the 
following letter from a pious gentleman of Hull, concerning 
the subsequent influence of Mr. C.'s labors in that town. It 
carries us a little beyond the time of our narrative, but is 
nevertheless an appropriate conclusion to the foregoing revival 
incidents. 






scenes and incidents of the hull revivaj 381 

" Hull, June 25, * 344. 
" My dear Brother, 

" We had our Quarterly Meeting yesterday. I wish you 
could have been present ; it would have greatly encouraged 
you. We have now on the Hull East near eight hundred 
more meeting in class than we had before your viuit. Mr. 
T. has the numbers, seven hundred and ninety-four or 
six ; but I should say, we have a few above eight hundred. 
Our finances are equally encouraging ; — we have an in- 
crease of <£60 per quarter. We passed a resolution, which 
will be handed to you by our Circuit stewards. It will, I 
trust, gratify you, and encourage you to go on in the name 
of Him who sent you on this glorious mission. I believe the 
Spirit of God will not mislead you, if you continue to be 
faithful. God will stand by you and his own truth. You 
remember the second Sunday evening you preached in Walt- 
ham Street chapel, when you said some strong things. A 
very wicked persecutor was induced to go into Waltham 
Street chapel, as he was passing ; the word reached his 
heart ; he never rested until he was saved ; — and a 
more sound and clear conversion we had not in Hull. 
His name is Thomas McC. I am sorry to say he per- 
ished last week in the Manchester steamer, with all on board ; 
they left this for Hamburg last Friday week. He has left a 
wife and two children. Is not this very startling, that so 
many should be swept away that have lately been converted, 
and others, who rejected the offers of mercy, also cut down ? 
May the mighty power of God still attend your ministry ! 
We had a very glorious day last Sabbath — Kingston chap- 
el full at the love-feast, and great power ; many saved 
in George Yard at night ; — we had a great victory. 
You must remember, I shall expect you to come by way 



382 SCENES AND INCIDENTS OF THE HULL KEVI.VAL. 

of Hull to London. I cannot excuse you. Hoping soon 
to hear from you, I am, my dear brother, yours very af- 
fectionately, 

" William Field." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

It was Mr. Caughey's intention to proceed directly from 
Hull to Huddersfield. But the Sheffield brethren, having 
by some misunderstanding been led to expect him in their 
circuits, had made such public announcements as could not 
with propriety be disappointed. Hence Mr. C, having but 
just begun his labors in Huddersfield, felt himself under a 
sort of moral compulsion to leave, and to make an attempt 
on the kingdom of darkness in Sheffield first. His success 
there showed the wisdom of his decision — it was really 
marvellous. With this brief introduction, we leave the 
reader to pursue the narrative with the assurance that this 
chapter will be to him a " feast of fat things." 

On Saturday, the 4th of May, 1844, I left Hull by rail- 
way for Huddersfield, where I arrived in a few hours, and 
was conducted to New-House, the mansion of Mr. Thomas 
Mallinson, where I was hospitably entertained during my 
stay. Next day I preached twice in the Queen Street 
chapel — a large and handsome edifice. Sinners were 
converted in the afternoon and at night. I preached also 
on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings. 
Each service was crowned with the conversion of sinners 
and sanctification of believers; indeed there was every 



384 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

appearance that we were on the eve of a very great revival 
of religion. The friends in Sheffield, however, had so con- 
strued a sentence in one of my letters, as to imply a 
positive promise to visit that town at a certain time ; had 
handbills printed and placards posted on the strength of it, 
and insisted upon the fulfilment, the following Sabbath. It 
was a grievous thing to the Huddersfield friends ; and they 
protested against it. But on my giving them a promise, 
that on my return from my intended Italian tour, I would 
revisit Huddersfield, they consented to let me go. I left 
them with regret. The Wesleyans have a lovely people in 
Huddersfield. A few influential men of the right stamp, 
appear to have given a holy, elevated, and generous tone to 
the entire church. Long may they continue so ; " rooted 
and fixed in God." 

The Wesleyan ministers now stationed in Huddersfield 
are, the Rev. John Greeves, the Rev. Jonathan J. Bates, 
and the Rev. Edward Brice. I was received by these 
ministers with great cordiality ; had the privilege of dining 
in their company several times during my stay ; and each 
interview only rendered the acquaintance the more interesting 
and agreeable. God bless them ! Amen. 

On Saturday, the 11th instant, I arrived in Sheffield, and 
was conducted by my kind friend Mr. John Unwin, to the 
house of Mr. William Beet, where I received a cheering 
welcome, and where I have since remained. About sixty 
persons have been converted here already. 

My sudden departure from Huddersfield was sorely against 
my will. I thought God had sent me there. Perhaps the 
future may explain it. When I was in Hull, Mr. Joseph 
Webb and Mr. Thomas Mallinson came with a special and 
pressing invitation to visit Huddersfield. My mind was not 
to go ; the more I thought of it, the more averse I felt. I 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 385 

| went up to my room, and fell down before God, and inquired, 
j " Shall I go, my Lord ? " The following was spoken to my 
; heart: " Go, nothing doubting." I said, "I shall go, 
,then;" and so the matter was arranged. I afterwards 
, found, that many of the good people at Huddersfield had 
i engaged to plead with God for the success of these gentle- 
men's mission. The meetings we did hold were crowned 
i with rich blessings from on high ; but our purposes were 
[ broken off. 

Of his first labors in Sheffield we find the following 
J account : 



We arrived in Sheffield in time to enjoy an excellent 
| prayer meeting in Carver Street chapel. 

I rejoice to inform you, that the special services in the 
| Ebenezer Wesleyan chapel of this town — Sheffield — have 
been remarkably owned of God, in the conversion of sinners 
i and the sanctification of believers. 

i At first, my congregations were small, but they increased 
, more and more, and so did the number of the saved. 
I Unlike most places I have visited, where I have been 
compelled to lay close siege to sinners, long and continued, 
(before they yielded, the sinners of Sheffield began almost 
immediately to surrender ; for, although the first prayer 
l meeting on Sabbath afternoon, May 12th, resulted in the 
conversion of one only, twenty-nine were converted at night 
after sermon. Considering the neighborhood and circum- 
stances of the society at Ebenezer, I felt at first a little 
surprised that the Superintendent, the Rev. J. P. Haswell, 
his colleagues, the Rev. J. Stinson, T. Dickin, and B. B 
Waddy, with the leading men on the Circuit, should have 
fixed upon this as the most suitable place to commence 
special efforts for a great revival — a decision, in which, I 
33 



586 displays or divine glory in Sheffield. 

believe they were unanimous. I would have chosen the 
heart — Carver Street chapel — as the most likely place to 
find that warmth of temperament, and energy of talent, so 
necessary " to make a beginning." The results, however, 
proved the propriety of their choice. The official brethren 
at Ebenezer entered into the work with their whole souls. 
The members, though generally poor in this world, but rich 
ai faith, assisted us in mighty prayer. The noise was some- 
times tremendous, but God was in it. No attempts were 
made abruptly to put it down ; but by prudent management 
on the part of Mr. Haswell, when present, and others who 
had charge of the services in his absence, it was kept within 
bounds, and under a scriptural and judicious control, and 
was rendered subservient to arouse the careless and prayer- 
less to perceive and feel that religion was a subject worthy 
of the attention and energies of their fellow- townsmen. The 
influential and talented leaders of Carver Street, instead of 
standing aloof to see first how the battle would go, came 
up nobly to the help of the Lord. Reports spread like fire 
through all parts of the town; sinners of every grade of 
character crowded to the place. Some fled in terror, looking 
unutterable things — illustrating vividly that passage in the 
book of Samuel : " And the Philistines were afraid, for they 
said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto 
us ! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore." Every 
meeting brought more and more together. The noise was 
heard afar : " And when the Philistines heard the noise of 
the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great 
shout ? for, when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came 
into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that 
the earth rang again." 1 Sam. iv. 

Some people were " offended " at the tremendous " amens " 
and shouts of victory which prevailed on every side. But 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIEID. 387 

i such were exhorted to patience, and to beware of temptation 
P — to remember also, that it was impossible, unless the lungs 
iof the zealous people were as substantial as leather, or as 
as Cicero expressed it, their bodies were " chiselled out of 
the rock, or hewn out of the oak ; " or their voices were 
.endowed with the unchangeability of the trumpet, that they 
i could stand, for any considerable length of time, efforts so 
I violent. The prediction proved too true. Toward the latter 
j part of the second week, they began to flag ; and there 
j were evident marks of a humiliating and rapid tendency to 
the opposite extreme. Some had quite exhausted their 
strength, others had broken their voices ; the " amens " 
were " few and far between." This was the reaction some 
of us anticipated. Any one, not acquainted with the secret 
power to which we owed our success, during the tempest of 
human feeling — the constraining and overpowering influ- 
ences of the Holy Ghost — would have said, " The revival 
is at an end — the sparks of their own kindling are quite 
gone out — it is likely they will close the doors now and 
recruit ere they can muster another such exhibition." But 
the work of God, which is not dependent upon much noise 
or little, but upon an influence from heaven, advanced with- 
out a pause. The hearts of the people were right with God. 
Wickedness was not in our camp, nor division of feeling or 
opinion. Many seemed, in their looks, to say : " Our hearts 
are with you, but we are weak ; our strength is gone ; we 
can do nothing but exercise faith, and pray in silence ; go on, 
the Lord of hosts is with you, the God of Jacob is our refuge ! " 
In the course of a week or so, they regained their energy, 
and were as ardent and zealous as ever; but, learning 
wisdom from the things they had suffered, they now pru 
dently " husbanded their strength," appropriating their 
H amens," " hallelujahs," &c, to those points of " onset or 



388 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

victory," where they could be used to the greatest advantage 
and effect. Their zeal being now according to knowledge, 
and guided by it, burned with a bright, steady, and ever- 
during flame — not a blaze one night and extinguished the 
next, fitful and uncertain as the lightning in the evening 
cloud ; but it kindled and ascended like the morning sun, 
advancing upward till it attained its meridian glory : as the 
sun, in the days of Joshua, it tarried over our Gibeon, " in 
the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down ; " I shall 
not say, " for the space of a whole day," or even during 
the remainder of the services in Ebenezer chapel, but it also 
extends, thus far, in Carver Street, until the Lord has 
avenged himself on his enemies and ours, gloriously. Many 
were the slain and healed of the Lord at Ebenezer. The 
meeting for the new converts, for the wounded also, and 
the slain, was a season never to be forgotten. The Ebenezer 
chapel was a symbolical Ebenezer to the vast assemblage 
of people on the night in question. By many tears and 
various expressions of joy, they seemed to say, almost 
universally, " This is our Ebenezer, for hitherto hath God 
helped us." 

Perhaps the following report, or table, of the progress of 
the revival, which was handed to me, at the close of the 
services in the above chapel, by the secretary, Mr. John 
Jepson, will afford you as good a view of the steady progress 
of this great work of God, as any other medium I could 
adopt : — 

"Dear Sir — The following is a faithful report of the 
numbers saved in Ebenezer chapel, from the 12th of May 
to the 3d of June, twenty-one days inclusive. In Jesus, 
affectionately yours, 

"John Jepson." 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 



389 



Sheffield, Ebenezer Ciiapel, Mat 12, to June 3, 1844. 





Justified 


Justified 


Blessing 






out of the 


in 


of Sancti- 


Totals. 




World. 


Society. 


fication. 




Sunday, May 12. 


31 


12 




43 


Monday " 13. 


21 


6 


13 


40 


Tuesday, " 14. 


17 


8 


9 


34 


Wednesday, " 15. 


9 


11 


6 


26 


Thursday, " 16. 


8 


9 


4 


21 


Friday, " 17. 


8 


6 


28 


42 


Saturday, " 18. 




Society 


Bands. 






91 


52 


60 


206 


Sunday, May 19. 


42 


16 


19 


77 


Monday, u 20. 


22 


7 


14 


43 


Tuesday, » 21. 


15 


9 


9 


33 


Wednesday, " 22. 


7 


5 


3 


15 


Thursday, " 23. 


5 


1 


4 


10 


Friday, " 24. 


3 





25 


28 




94 


38 


~74 


206 


Sunday, May 26. 


24 


26 


12 


62 


Monday, " 27. 


6 


3 


17 


26 


Tuesday, " 28. 


13 


10 


11 


34 


Wednesday, " 29. 


8 


6 


22 


36 


Thursday, " 30. 


10 


8 


3 


21 


Friday, " 31. 


1 


4 


17 


22 




62 


57 


82 


201 


Sunday, June 2. 


62 


12 


33 


107 


Monday, " 3. 


11 


4 


13 


28 




73 


16 


46 


135 


Grand Totals, . 


. 323 


163 


262 


748 



The scene of my labors at present is Carver Street chapeL 
The work of God is advancing with increased rapidity and 
power. The first Sabbath we spent in this place of worship, 
one hundred and sixty-seven persons professed salvation. 
Since then hundreds have been saved. The work is indeed 
glorious, beyond any thing I have ever seen before in the 
same space of time. All seriously disposed persons, so far as' 
I have learned, are led to regard it as an extraordinary work 
of God. I am happy to inform you I received a letter from 



390 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

Bishop Hedding. It is most affectionate : all, in fact, and 
more than I could have expected. * * * So far from urging 
my return, he expresses a cordial approbation of my labors 
and success in winning souls to Christ, and prays that Grod 
may continue to bless me wherever I may labor. He says 
the Conference will gladly receive me on my return, with 
this proviso, that I bring good testimonials back with me 
of my good conduct during my sojourn in Europe ; closing 
with the assurance, that thousands are ready, with joy, to 
welcome my return to the American shores, to recommence 
my ministerial labors in that country. 

" 0, to grace how great a debtor, 
Daily I'm constrained to be ! " 

Here follows a communication sent to Mr. Caughey at 
Sheffield, from one of the scenes of his previous efforts in 
Hull. We insert it to show the reader how high an estimate 
the official members at Hull placed on his precious labors 
for souls. 

" 4, Parliament Street, Hull, June 26, 1844. 
" Rev. and dear Sir, 

" We have much pleasure in transmitting to you the 
following extract from the Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting 
of the Hull East Circuit, held on the 24th instant. 

" We remain, reverend and dear Sir, your faithful and 
obedient servants, 

" W. Cowley, ) Circuit 

Edward Riggall, \ Stewards. 

" On the motion of Mr. Riggall, seconded by Mr. Field, 
it was resolved unanimously, — 

"That this meeting, from the numerical and financial 
statements laid before it by the Stewards, feels called upon 
to record its devout gratitude to Almighty God, for his 



DISPLAYS OE DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 391 

abundant blessing upon the special services lately held ; and 
also, its high sense of the consistent and exemplary Christian 
conduct of the Rev. James Caughey, of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church in America, during his residence in this 
Circuit ; as well as of his untiring ministerial labors, and the 
efficient assistance rendered by him to the ministers of the 
Circuit during those services." 

I had the pleasure, a few days ago, of taking dinner here 
with Dr. Alder, now one of the general Wesleyan Missionary 
Secretaries. He manifested a lively and cordial interest in 
the revival; and, in prayer, around the family altar, he 
proved how sincere and ardent was his interest, by praying 
most fervently and affectionately for your correspondent. 
Mrs. Alder, an American lady by birth, you will remember, 
and Miss Alder, are here at present, and rejoice in this 
wonderful triumph of the gospel of God. The doctor is out 
upon a tour of missionary visitation to the churches, and 
intends to return by the way of Sheffield. 

In a letter bearing date of July 30, 1844, he thus 
continues his sketches of the work in Sheffield. 

Since the date of my last, the revival has advanced with 
amazing majesty and power. The scenes have been such as 
cannot be easily described. I spent from June 4th, till the 
5th instant, in Carver Street chapel. The following extract 
from a table, sent me by one of the secretaries, may give 
you some idea of the grand and extensive character of the 
work ; so far, at least, as numbers are concerned. But, to 
have a just view, or a proper conception of the wonderful 
effects of truth upon the mass of mind therein recorded, and 
" the differences of manifestation," in the hour of sorrow 
and distress ; the prayers, tears, and long and bitter cries 
for mercy, and the joyful and triumphant exclamations of 



392 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFIIELD. 

new-born souls, or purified believers, in the glad Lour of 
salvation, would require that you should have been " in the 
midst of us." Never have I beheld any thing equal to it. 
0, it was " sublimely grand! " — grand in its cause, grand 
in the effects, grand in results, and grand beyond all human 
imaginings when taken in connection with the grandeur of a 
coming eternity ! But here is the extract : 

" The services were continued in Carver Street chapel 
from June 4th to July 5th; twenty-eight days inclusive. 
From the world, 650 ; appointed to meet in class, thus : 
West Circuit, 395 ; East Circuit, 145 ; not appointed to 
classes, 56 ; the remainder were from distant and other 
churches. Members justified, — West Circuit, 83 ; East 
Circuit, 63 ; other Circuits and churches, 29. Members 
sanctified, — West Circuit, 181; East Circuit, 98; other 
churches, 56. Total justified, 825; sanctified, 335. Total, 
eleven hundred and sixty." 

I commenced my labors on the East Circuit, on the 
following Sabbath, in Brunswick chapel. The ministers on 
this Circuit are, the Rev. Alexander Bell, Superintendent; 
the Rev. John Burton, the Rev. William B. Stephenson, 
and the Rev. James Carr. On the morning of the 11th 
inst., one of the persons recorded in the above table, a 
female, who was a backslider, called upon me, in company 
with another. So great had been her distress, she could 
neither eat nor sleep. She had not, it seems, fallen from 
God at once, by any heinous sin, but declined gradually, till 
she lost the life of God totally from her soul ; and now, 
awakened to a sense of her sad condition, she was inconso- 
lable. We joined in prayer, but the Lord suffered her to 
leave the house without any thing more than a cheering ray 
of hope that he would not permit her to die an alien to God. 
A few minutes after, when walking homeward along the 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 392 

street, with a feeble and faltering step, the Lord met her, 
and said to her heart, " Thou art mine ! " Sorrow was 
exchanged for joy in a moment. The Saviour conferred 
" beauty for ashes ; " and she pursued her way with a glad 
heart and free, rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. I saw her in the chapel a few nights afterwards. 
How marked the change in the woman's countenance ! The 
grief and despair which, at the time I first saw her, rendered 
her face the picture of agony and desolation, were all gone, 
and now, calm, serene joy beamed out upon every lineament 
of it. May she ever stand fast in that liberty wherewith 
Christ has made her free ! Amen ! 

A respectable looking young man called upon me a few 
days ago. " I walked down to Ebenezer," said he, " one 
evening, and heard you preach, but I got no good — I was 
perfectly disgusted — I wanted smooth things, and was dis- 
appointed. I went again to hear you, and was delighted ; 
but still remained undecided upon the great question of my 
salvation. One night I had a dream. I was in a certain 
place. An enormous serpent moved towards me. Its object 
seemed to be, first to coil itself around me and then to sting 
me to death. My struggles against its motions were despe- 
rate. Finally it succeeded to entangle me in its folds, and 
then it stung me, after which I escaped. I thought in my 
dream, I would return and destroy the serpent ; but when I 
entered the place, a powerful man stood there. He seized 
the serpent, held it up in his hand, and dashed its head upon 
the ground with such force that it died, and then trampled 
it in triumph. I awoke in a great state of excitement. It 
was then impressed upon my mind, ' The serpent is the 
devil ; he has been endeavoring to destroy your soul, but 
you shall yet conquer ; nevertheless, not in your own strength, 
but by another.' The following evening I /rent down to 



Job, 
able 

J ~ i 

it 13 



394 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLOBT IN SHEFFIELD. 

Etenezer. Your text was, c Awake, thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.' During 
the sermon, you said, God sometimes spoke to sinners in 
dreams. You read a striking passage in the Book of Job, 
and said, There is a man among you who had a remarkable 
dream last night. That dream was a warning from God 
beware how you take it — reject it not ; the design of 
to keep your soul back from the pit, and your life from 
perishing by the sword of the Lord. My feelings, during 
this appeal, were in a sort of indescribable amaze. I knew 
the whole was for me — from God himself." The person in 
question obtained salvation shortly after. Hallelujah ! The 
word of God is quick and powerful, searching the inmost of 
the soul, and reveals secret things. 

There have been several cases of restitution lately. Among 
the many who have had money restored them, is an infidel. 
Upon pocketing the cash, he said with a sort of a "compla- 
cent smile," such as he had not accorded to religion for a 
great while, " Well, if Christianity can make a thief deliver 
up my money, there must, after all, be something good in it. 
I will go and hear for myself." Another person, a few days 
since, made restitution to an innkeeper. The letter in which 
the money was enclosed, concluded with these expressive 
words : "A Christian now, but once a thief." 

The confessions of some of these awakened sinners, while 
pleading for mercy at the communion-rail, are sometimes 
most affecting. The other night, an old sinner with his 
wife, were kneeling among the penitents. His agony was 
very great. One of the leaders overheard him pray thus : 
" Lord, I never offered up one prayer for thirty years 
About six months ago my son was converted ; since then 1 
have been trying to alter my course of life. But T have 
been a wicked sinner; I have committed all sorts of wicked- 






DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 395 

ness. Lord, canst thou have mercy upon such, a sinner 
as me ? Thou knowest what a rascal I have been ! What 
an oud Sabbath-breaker ! Lord, have mercy on me ! " 
On being informed that his wife had obtained mercy from 
Heaven, he exclaimed: " Lord! must I go to hell be me 
sen ! " * The agony into which he immediately entered, 
proved that he was determined to accompany his old woman 
to a better region. At length, with Heaven beaming in his 
face, he cried out, " ! I feel something come into my 
heart. I feel that the Lord has sent a great light into my 
poor dark soul. The Lord has removed my load ; he has 
pardoned all my sins for Christ's sake. What a mercy 
that the Lord should have mercy upon such an oud feller 
as me ! " 

The Lord has enabled me, of late, to describe particular 
characters, during the course of my sermons, with wonderful, 
and, in some cases, with what appeared miraculous accuracy. 
Many have been strangely wrought upon, while I have been 
relating some of the most secret parts of their character and 
doings. Although some of the congregation are frequently 
subjected to various charges from the convicted parties, who 
insist that "such and such a one" has been telling the 
preacher all about them, yet the results are often astonish- 
ing. The other night, while preaching, a certain character 
came up before me with this written upon him : A Roman 
Catholic in the- gallery! The Lord helped me. Poor 
fellow ; while scrambling for his hat, in order to make an 
escape from the searching truth of God, he heard words 
whereby he might be saved. Some who knew him were 
astonished; but he blamed them, and complained bitterly 
that they had been in communication with me ; which, of 

* Yorkshire dialect for " by myself." 



896 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

course, they positively denied. The results I have not yet 
learned. 

On the 3d of July I delivered a temperance lecture ui the 
Primitive Methodist chapel. There were many intelligent 
and good people present, but a larger number of " the lowest 
of the low." The crowd was oppressive, owing in part to 
the smallness of the chapel. Some of the children of the 
devil seemed to have no patience with each other. Each 
man, aye and woman too, seemed as if determined " to main- 
tain a footing." Elbows and tongues were called into action, 
with tremendous energy — I speak now of the crowds on 
the gallery stairs, and the masses by the doors — the rest 
of the audience were perfectly well-behaved. Some en- 
deavored to reconcile the conflicting parties, but in vain ; 
some poor women were pressed almost out of life ; and others, 
with their gruff voices, and powerful elbows, were endeavor- 
ing to defend them ; while others were determined to get in, 
if they should climb over the "heads and shoulders" of the 
mass. Opposition to the cause of temperance did not pre- 
vail, I believe, in a single breast. But all were resolved upon 
hearing the lecture, — and all could not be admitted, — and 
it was every man for himself. I could not but love the ex- 
cited throng, although they gave me considerable uneasiness. 
Finding the voice of authority as inefficient as the chains 
of Xerxes to bind the waves of the Hellespont, I tried chains 
of another kind. The ancient painters, you may remember, 
were ambitious to describe the eloquence of Hercules Celti- 
cus, but, unfortunately, most of them found that the elo- 
quence of attitude, gesture, and expression of countenance, 
were much more easily described upon canvass than eloquence 
in language. One of them, however, " determining not to 
be outdone," represented it by an immense number of golden 
chains coming out of the mouth of the orator, and reaching 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 397 

to the ears of great multitudes. A capital idea ! Although 
it spoiled his picture, it originated an aphorism, — Attention 
enchained by eloquence ; which " holds good " to the present 
day. If eloquence happened to be absent on the evening in 
question, argument and earnestness, her representatives, 
presided with considerable effect. Silence signalized, atten- 
tion chained ; but the mighty work was to keep it thus. The 
devil, in the case of Job, either would not, or could not, afflict 
or bind his tongue. Some think the arch fiend left that mem- 
ber at liberty, that he might employ it in bitter complaints 
against providence, or to curse God. 

The moment I paused, the chains were snapped from at- 
tention, and the " unruly member," in many a head, was set 
in motion, uttering a series of ejaculations, interlocutions, 
ejulations, remonstrances, and interjections ! So, to keep 
their tongues quiet, mine had to attempt something like per- 
petual motion ; and it is due to say, after the first ten or 
fifteen minutes of the lecture^ with the exception of a few 
grumbles now and again, we enjoyed a calm that was credit- 
able to the speaker, as well as to tee-totalism. I thought of 
Lord Bacon, who represents the influence of science over 
the minds of men, as bearing some resemblance to the power 
of the harp of Orpheus over beasts and birds — they all 
forgot their several appetites, some for prey, some for game, 
others for quarrel, and stood sociably together, listening to 
the airs and sweet accords of the wonderful harp. No 
sooner, however, had the sounds ceased, or were drowned by 
some louder noise, than every beast returned to his own na- 
ture. This noble writer considers the fable a fine illustration 
of the power of truth over mind. Naturally, our race is 
full of savage and unreclaimed desires, of profit, of lust, of 
revenge ; and, so long as men are brought together by pre- 
cepts, laws, and religion, sweetly touched by eloquence and 
34 



398 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

persuasion of books, sermons, and harangues, so long is the 
peace of society maintained ; but if these instruments of 
human suasion become silent, or if sedition and tumult render 
dieir voice inaudible, all things dissolve into anarchy and 
confusion. Certainly, leaving eloquence out of the question, 
my harangue had this influence upon the agitated mass ; and, 
when they were elbowing each other, and exchanging glances 
their tongues could not speak, they frequently accorded a 
truce to hostilities, and united in giving the lecturer their ap- 
proval, in the usual method of clapping and stamping. 

At the close of the meeting, about three hundred persons 
came forward, and testified in the most convincing way that 
circumstances would admit, that they understood and appre- 
ciated the arguments of the stranger, by uniting themselves 
with the Sheffield Total Abstinence Society ; that is, totally 
renouncing the use of every beverage employed by the devil 
and selfish and wicked men to make drunkards. " Is there 
a dealer in intoxicating drinks," said one, " that would be 
willing to read the history of his sales ? Such a history 
would pierce his soul, and terrify his imagination with images 
the most dark and horrible. The moral infection that has 
been engendered by his sales alone, would darken the air 
around him." I would add, could those Christian gentle- 
men, who indulge in wine, ale, and porter, to speak of noth 
ing stronger, read the history of their example, during the 
last ten or fifteen years " of their practice," perhaps " an 
imagery " might arise that would go far to pain their souls 
also, and terrify their imagination. It is difficult, under cer- 
tain circumstances, to avoid reflections of this kind. At the 
table of hospitality sits the minister of Christ, — the pat- 
ron, in word and deed, of the wine-bottle and ale-jug. 
Around that man are seated the youthful branches of an in- 
teresting family, who accord to his indulgence a ready and 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 399 

J willing imitation. The father and mother of that family are 
i little aware, how, by such a clerical example, they are haz- 
1 arding the well-being of their children for this world and the 
i next. No man that has seen much of the world, and the 
, miseries arising from these fascinating and dangerous drinks, 
, can look upon such a scene without a secret alarm. Alas ! I 
! have thought, when contemplating such a scene, could this 
I good man read the future history of all these young people, not 
■ to speak of the older guests, how deeply would he be affected 
by his example ! Were the fingers of a man's hand to come 
I out upon the walls of this dining-room, and write in legible 
characters the future history of some one of these young 
persons who may yet be ruined, soul and body, by these 
drinks, and by his example too, we might behold him as Bel- 
shazzer of old, (Dan. v.,) his countenance changed, his 
thoughts troubling him, the joints of his loins loosed, and his 
knees smiting one against another. Perhaps it was in reference 
to the consequences of our example, that the apostle advises, 
that it is good neither to drink wine, nor any thing where- 
by thy brother stumbleth, is offended, or made weak, (Rom. 
xiv.,) — a good New Testament tee-total pledge this surely, 
when the church of God thinks it proper to take it up, and 
act upon it as a sacred rule of Christian conduct. I could 
write much upon the direful evils arising from ministerial ex- 
ample in drinking and smoking — but I forbear. How such 
men can consistently expect God to bless their ministry in the 
awakening and conversion of many sinners, I cannot well 
conceive, unless they suppose that the Holy Ghost is desirous 
of setting the seal of his approbation upon their habits, 
and thus imparting a greater weight and influence to their 
pernicious example. 

On the night of Thursday, 18th inst., we were favored 
with a most extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, in 



400 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

Brunswick chapel. The sermon was designed only as pre 
paratory to the discourse I had set apart for the following 
night, which was to be, The nature of that faith which 
purifies the heart. On the night in question, I had that fine 
passage for my text : " But the God of all grace, who hath 
called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that 
ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strength- 
en, settle you." 1 Peter v. 10. I was led to lay down the 
following proposition : That many are called to pass through 
a series of mental, physical, and providential sufferings, before 
they are sanctified entirely, throughout soul, body, and 
spirit. 

At the close of the discourse, the Lord was pleased to 
show there was neither merit in such a process of suffering, 
nor any necessity for it, if his servants were only willing he 
should cut the work short in righteousness, and save them by 
faith. The cry of many hearts was, " Lay down the rod of 
chastisement, Lord, and save us by faith." Beholding the 
people much affected, I concluded to leave them with God. 
Hundreds fell down upon their knees at once. I requested 
them to talk with God, for he had come down among them 
in " very deed." " Now, Lord," I said, " the people are at 
thy feet ; hear them ! For Christ's sake, hear them ! At- 
tend to their confessions ; hear their cries, and save them ! 
Save them by faith ! If they only believe that they do re- 
ceive, they shall, on that instant, receive all — all that is in 
thee. Thy mouth, Lord God, hath spoken the word." 
Prayer became general over the entire chapel — galleries 
and all — two thousand people were bowed as the heart of 
one man. What could stand before this ? Neither hell, sin, 
unbelief, devils, nor sinners. The power of God came down. 
The supplications of believers for purity, and the piercing 
cries of penitent sinners for mercy filled my soul with amaze. 






DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 401 

.< I have witnessed a few scenes of the kind in tne course of my 
i ministry, but never any thing so universal and so tremendous, 
jj and, at the same time, accompanied with so little of any thing 
8 that could be imputed to human extravagance ; — it was the 
I prayer of faith in every heart — mighty, omnipotent, pre- 
j vailing prayer ! Twenty-four weeping but triumphant con- 
. verts, who had within the last twenty or thirty minutes ob- 
; tained the forgiveness of sins, and fifty individuals who had 
,received purity of heart, passed successively out of the 
I chapel into one of the vestries, to declare there what great 
| things God had wrought within them. How many more 
received remission of sins, and purity, during that wonderful 
, visitation, perhaps we shall never know till the judgment day. 
I should have informed you, that Brunswick chapel be- 
longs to Sheffield East Circuit. My visit to that chapel was 
in accordance with the earnest and affectionate request of the 
Superintendent, the Rev. Alexander Bell. I finished my 
labors in Carver Street on the 5th instant. 

The views of the official men, at Sheffield, of Mr. C. and 
his revival labors, may be seen in the following : 

" 253, Glossop Road, Sheffield, ) 
June 27, 1844. $ 

" Rev. James Caughey, 
"My dear Sir, 

" I have the honor of forwarding to you a copy of a reso- 
lution, passed by our Quarterly Meeting, not only unani- 
mously, but in connection with addresses from several of our 
preachers and leading friends, to which every member 
seemed to respond ; and which indicated intense interest in 
your operations, and a high degree of respect and affection 
for yourself. 

34* 



402 DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 

" It affords me great pleasure to make a communication so 
jauch in accordance with my own views and feelings ; and I 
trust we ' shall see greater things than these.' I am, reverend 
and dear Sir, yours faithfully, 

"Samuel Hill Smith." 

" Copy of a Resolution of the Quarterly Meeting of the 
Sheffield West Circuit, held June the 24th, 1844. Passed 
unanimously, on the motion of the senior Circuit steward, 
seconded by his colleague. 

"•Resolved, That this meeting would gratefully acknowl- 
edge the goodness of God in rendering the course of special 
services, now in progress, so effectual in promoting a revival 
of his work ; and, whilst it would acknowledge the spirit of 
love and zeal, evinced by its own ministers and members, it 
would especially express its sense of the influence which the 
continuance, during the last six weeks, of the affectionate, 
enlightened, and powerful ministrations of the Rev. James 
Caughey, has excited in bringing about a religious awakening, 
which has already resulted in the conversion of many sinners, 
and the deepening of the work of grace in the hearts of 
many believers. And the meeting further resolves, that its 
warmest thanks are due to Mr. Caughey for his kind accept- 
ance of an invitation to visit this Circuit, and his subsequent 
efficient labors in it. 

" Signed on behalf of the meeting, 

" J. P. Haswell, Chairman, 
Samuel Hill Smith, ) c,, , „ 
T. Lojthouse, | Stewards." 

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of taking dinner in 
company with James Montgomery, Esquire, the Sheffield 
poet. The honor was done me by the kindness and hospital- 
ity of Mr. Smith, the writer of the above letter. We spent 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 4:03 

an hour or two most agreeably in conversation. I little 
thought, when reading the two volumes of his poems, which 
grace your library, that I should, in England — in Sheffield, 
see and converse with the poet himself. 

This month, up till within the last few days, has been 
marked with a long and alarming drought. Sabbath morn- 
ing week, I felt it on my heart, while in the pulpit in Carver 
Street chapel, to offer up publicly, " the prayer of faith " 
for rain. The effect upon many present was remarkable. 
Some thought it must rain immediately. Others were lifting 
up their eyes to the windows, expecting the usual tokens every 
moment. Many were concerned about their light shoes and 
clothing ; others were thinking seriously of sending off for 
their umbrellas. Alas! they were disappointed. When 
leaving the chapel, they smiled at their simplicity on observ- 
ing the heavens to be* as " clear and cloudless " as ever. 
But, as Sammy Hicks said, it had to " come from the sea;" 
faith said, Wait and expect it. On the night of the same 
day, that God, who causeth the vapors to ascend from the 
ends of the earth, who uttering his voice and there is a 
multitude of waters in the heavens, who maketh lightnings 
with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries, 
(Psalm cxxxv. 7 ; Jer. x. 13,) favored the thirsty earth with 
a refreshing shower of rain. Hallelujah ! the Lord God 
omnipotent reigneth ; a prayer-answering as well as a sin- 
pardoning God. 

Since the date of my last, I changed my residence to ihe 
mansion of Jonathan Beet, Esq.,* father of my late host, Mr. 
William Beet. He is, I believe, the oldest member of the 
Wesleyan church in Sheffield ; an intelligent, agreeable, and 
venerable servant of the living God. In both families I have 
been treated with great kindness and hospitality. That they 

* Since gone to his reward in heaven. 



404 DISPLAYS OE DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD 

may have their reward, not only in the present life, but in 
Jie resurrection of the just, is the prayer of their grateful 
guest. 

I enjoyed a pleasant ride the other day, in company with 
Mr. John Unwin, to Norton ; a pretty neighborhood, a few 
miles from Sheffield ; and dined at Norton House, the resi- 
dence of one of our Wesleyan friends, Thomas B. Holy, 
Esq. It is an ancient, baronial-like mansion, partly covered 
with ivy, venerable in aspect, and " beautiful for situation.'' 
"VVe spent several hours most agreeably with Mr. Holy and 
his excellent and pious lady. Before dinner, we walked 
through the old church. Norton is the birthplace of the 
celebrated sculptor, Francis Chantrey ; one of the greatest 
artists whom England has produced. There is a monument to 
his memory in the church, of plain white marble, enriched 
with a medallion likeness of the artist — an exquisite piece 
of sculpture. His remains repose a few yards from the 
church, encompassed by an iron palisading. A short time 
before his death he came down from London to choose his 
place of sepulture. In doing so, he remarked to the aged 
clergyman of the parish, " But I do not intend you to bury 
me;" but he did so, very shortly after. 

My home at present is Shirley House, near Sheffield, the 
residence of Nathaniel Greaves, Esq. It is a lovely spot, 
quite retired. The grounds are not extensive, but "the 
touch of taste is every where around;" "well-assorted 
hues," and "graceful mixtures" with "level walks and foliaged 
bowers," " the fair results of thought, the creature of a 
polished mind." In Mr. and Mrs. Greaves I have found 
two excellent friends, for whom I trust to praise God in 
heaven. May our friendship be perpetuated for ever ! I am 
thankful to my kind and gracious Lord for the mercies which 
enclose me around. I may well blush, when I think of my 



DISPLAYS OF DIVINE GLORY IN SHEFFIELD. 405 

divine Master, " who led a suffering life, inured to poverty 
and pain," while I have all, and abound. " The servant 
is above his Lord ! " 

•' Had I the choice of sublunary good, 
What could I wish, that I possess not here ? 
Health, leisure, means t' improve it, friendship, peace, 
And constant occupation, without care ! " 

I am preaching, however, at the usual rate — six times a 
week, prayer meeting on Monday night, reserving only 
Saturday night for myself. The revival shows no pause. 
Multitudes of sinners are turning to God on every hand. A 
Sabbath or two ago, more than one hundred and sixty per- 
sons were saved in one day. Glory and praise be unto God ! 

A few days since, I planted, in the presence of a company 
of friends, two small trees, a cedar and a yew, in the lawn 
of Shirley House. They are named " after " me, and seem 
to be doing well. This month, thus far, and the last, have 
been the happiest in my life. The holy joy and rest in God 
I have felt in my soul, have been inexpressibly sweet and 
delightful. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 

Tins may be termed the Sunday School Teacher's chap 
ter, because of the beautiful letter of Mr. Chaloner to Mr. 
Caughey, describing a great work of Grod among the children 
of Bed Hill Sabbath School in Sheffield. That letter ought 
to be read in every American Sabbath school. It demon- 
strates the possibility of sound conversion and of extensive 
revivals among children. 

This chapter carries the narrative of Mr. Caughey's 
labors down to the 8th of September, 1844, the date on 
which he closed his wondrously successful efforts in Shef- 
field. 



On the evening of August 1, 1844, we held a meeting 
for the benefit of the new converts, in Brunswick chapel, 
similar to those I have described in former letters. About 
three hundred and seventy-five new converts were present ; 
it was a most gracious season, a confirming and strengthen 
ing time, to those who had but just commenced the heavenly 
race. 

Shortly after the above meeting, I received the following 
note from the secretary. It will show you the wonderful | 
character of the revival in Brunswick chapel : — 
406 



I 



CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 407 

" Sheffield Moor, August 3, 1844. 
^Vis&.t oear Sir, 

" I have taken the liberty of forwarding to you a copy 
from our book, (as on other side,) of the numbers up to the 
present time. Truly we may say, ' What hath God wrought ! ' 
" That you may be strengthened in body and blessed in 
soul, and rendered instrumental of still greater good, is the 
sincere and earnest prayer of 

" Yours very respectfully, 

"Abraham Sharman. 

" Special servicer, held in Brunswick chapel, Sheffield, — 



results, — from 


July 


7th to August 2d, 1844. 


Week ending 




F W?rld he SoSty. Sanctified. Per Week. Total 


July 12. . 


. 


. 200 39 51 290 


" 19. . 


. 


. 180 32 152 364 


" 26. 


. 


. 222 44 96 ,362 


Aug. 2. 




. 140 28 76 244 1260 



It is proper to remark that many of the above, who were 
from the world, resided in country Circuits, and within the 
\ range of other churches. On their return, they joined their 
irespective churches in their own localities. Still the Wesley- 
i ans claim by far the largest proportion. I shall endeavor to 
ffind out what the real increase is likely to be, as realized by 
kthe Wesleyan church in Sheffield, and what proportion of 
• the above numbers were members in the two Circuits in 
"tfcown, and shall state the same, if possible, in my next 
i comraanieation. 

On the 4th instant, (August,) we commenced a series of 
i'fepecial services in Norfolk Street chapel, which continued 

fhrough eighteen days. I had little of that comfort and 
I- Satisfaction in this chapel that I had at Ebenezer, Carver 
^Street, and Brunswick chapels. There was something there, 

n my apprehension, that grieved the Holy Spirit ; still the 



408 CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 

results were very great. From the world, more than four 
hundred souls ; about two hundred of whom, I understand, 
joined the circuit to which Norfolk Street chapel belongs, 
and above one hundred united with the other Circuit. I was 
surprised to find, that of so many hundreds saved, so few 
belonged to the Norfolk Street congregation. Why, I can- 
not tell. The Lord knoweth ; for all things are naked and 
open to Him, with whom we have to do. Perhaps they may 
yield themselves to God suddenly, even before I leave the 
town ; for in this revival, nothing but what is quite impossible 
seems difficult. 

" Like mighty winds or torrents fierce, 
It doth opposers all o'erturn." 

I forgot to add that nearly three hundred believers pro* 
fessed to obtain purity of heart during the services in Norfolk 
Street. All glory be to God ! He doeth the works. His 
arm is mighty. What can withstand his power ? Sin, the 
devil, hell and its powers, sinners and their errors in doc- 
trines and practice, must fly or fall before the influences of 
the Spirit, as chaff before the wind. Hallelujah! The 
Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Amen and amen ! 

I am sure the following letter, written to me by a superin- 
tendent of one of the Sabbath schools of this town, will be 
interesting to you. You may depend upon the statements 
it contains. If you think proper, you may read it to the 
children of your Sabbath school. It will show them ho^ 
English children are affected by the truths of the gosrel 
Perhaps the teachers may also profit by it. By this docu- 
ment they may learn how deeply some of the teachers anc 
superintendents of Sunday schools in England are concernec 
for the conversion of the children committed to their care 
The great design of their labors is not merely to teach th( 
pupils to read, (this and other branches of learning may b< 



CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 409 

acquired in the week-day schools,) but to bring them to an 
early and to an experimental acquaintance with God. This 
should be the end, the distinct aim of all who labor in the 
Sabbath school. The object of such institutions is scarcely 
half accomplished, if the instruction does not result in the 
conversion of the scholar before his final dismission from the 
school. 

" Sheffield, Church Street, July 9, 1844. 
"Rev. and dear Sir, 

" I have thought several times you might not deem it 
impertinent in me if I were to inform you what God has 
been doing for us at Red Hill school. 

" Sunday, July 7th, was the most glorious day ever 
witnessed in connection with the services of that institution. 
Many special seasons have occurred in its history, (one in 
particular, I remember, during which seventy children pro- 
fessed to obtain the forgiveness of their sins,) but the oldest 
laborer in the institution declares, that this gracious visitation 
from on high surpasses them all. A few friends met acci- 
dentally last week, and in the course of conversation, it was 
suggested that, now the special services were removed from 
the neighborhood of the school, something should be done 
to insure the stability of the work of God, so far as it had 
extended among the children. It was agreed, therefore, 
that all the teachers should be specially invited to attend on 
Sunday morning, that such plans might be adopted as would 
best conduce to that object. When they met, it was agreed 
that those children and teachers who had received blessings 
during the revival, should be called out of the school-room 
into the vestry, while a verse was being sung ; that, while 
two of the friends made minute inquiries into the spiritual 
state of each child, and whether she had met in the class to 
which she had been appointed at the chapel, one of the 



110 CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD, 

superintendents should deliver a short address in the school, 
and commence a prayer meeting, inviting all who felt a 
desire to save their souls to come forward to be prayed for. 
The vestry was shortly filled with children who had been 
saved at the chapels, and it was a glorious sight ; and soon 
after brother James Wilkinson had spoken a few solemn 
words, the power of the Holy Ghost descended and melted 
us all into tears. It was with some difficulty that we could 
get to our work of inquiry ; but, when entered upon, it was 
mont satisfactory. Out of more than eighty present, only 
nine had not been to class ; and some of the nine had only 
been saved on the Thursday evening previously, and had not 
had the opportunity. Before, however, we had got through 
this part of our blessed labor, the room was again half filled 
with girls, who, with streaming eyes and joyful countenances, 
came to tell us what God had done for their souls in the 
prayer meeting that was being carried on in the school-room. 
From this time (soon after eleven o'clock) the children 
continued to throng into the vestry until nearly twelve, 
when eighty-two precious souls were rejoicing in a sin- 
pardoning God, and were appointed to suitable classes. 
During all this time my hands were so full I had not an 
opportunity to mingle with our friends in the school-room ; 
and though we felt the presence of God with us in the 
vestry, in a remarkable manner, yet I am told that the 
scene in the school-room, and the glory felt, surpassed 
description. At one period it seemed as if the whole con- 
gregation of teachers and children were bowed down with 
the weight of the overshadowing glory. Hundreds were in 
distress ; and it seemed a small matter for the whole school 
to be saved. In the afternoon, the prayer meeting was 
commenced again, and sixty-three more souls entered into 
the glorious liberty of the gospel. The whole number for 



CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD 411 

the day being one hundred and forty-five. All glory be *o 
God l We little expected such a result when God first put 
it in our hearts to care for the stability of the work among 
the children ; and our cry is now, ' Lord, what shall we do 
next ? ' And I think there seems to be no answer but 
' Walk by the same rule, mind the same thing.' The Lord 
help us ! 

" I should say that these details refer only to the girls' 
school, in which there are above five hundred scholars, 
nearly half of whom are now professing to believe on Jesus 
Christ to the salvation of their souls. There were also at 
least two clear instances of entire sanctification. 

U I have written much more than I thought would be 
necessary. Please to pardon my prolixity, and believe me 
to remain, ever yours, most affectionately, 

" G. Chaloner." 

After finishing his labors in Norfolk Street chapel, Mr. 
Caughey revisited the other chapels, spending a day or two 
in each. He also spent one Sabbath in Bridgehouse's chapel. 
He closes his account of the Sheffield revival in the following 
words : 

As the time of my departure from Sheffield approached, 
public excitement, and anxiety to hear the gospel, became 
deeper and more widely extended. The congregations were 
overwhelming, and my labors excessive. In consequence 
of which, I regret to find I bave made but very few notes 
of our proceedings. Borne onward from one wave of feeling 
to another, I find myself in London ; and the events of the 
last few weeks appear more " like a stormy and troubled 
dream" than realities, leaving me but few materials by 
which to enrich a letter to my friend. This may suffice, that 
hundreds more were saved, and multitudes of sinners besides 



.4:12 CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 

were awakened to a concern for their souls, which it is to be 
hoped they may never lose. 

I spent two evenings, before leaving Sheffield, with the 
ministers and leaders. The first evening with the officials 
of the West Circuit, in Carver Street band-room. The Rev. 
J. P. Haswell, Superintendent, presided. There are about 
fifty local preachers, and more than twice that number of 
class leaders on the Circuit, the greater part of whom were 
present. After tea, Mr. Haswell introduced the business 
of the meeting, desiring the leaders to give some account 
of the state of their classes, and the number and character 
of the new converts which had been committed to their care. 
Those who had obtained the largest accessions spoke first. 
Their testimonies were most cheering and satisfactory. 0, it 
was a gracious and melting season ! The brethren were all 
greatly favored of the Lord. Their lips seemed touched 
with celestial fire. They spoke with uncommon liberty, 
power, unction, and propriety. Some related cases of con- 
version of a very remarkable character. Others told some 
thrilling incidents in the history and experience of those 
lately brought in. My heart was greatly comforted. The 
reaction, about which some had prophesied, I felt sure would 
not come. I told the leaders all my heart, all I hoped, all 
I had feared. I pleaded the necessity of taking care of 
those who had been rescued from the devil and the world ; 
urged on their attention, that much depended upon their 
faithfulness as leaders, in care, prayer, zeal, watchfulness, 
and perseverance, whether the multitudes saved should be 
preserved from going back into the world. The manner in 
which these dear brethren responded, left an impression upon 
my heart of gratitude, confidence, and joy, which I shall 
remember for ever. Mr. Haswell closed with prayer. And 
such a prayer ! We had " showers of blessings." It seemed 



CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 413 

as if the heavens were opened, as if God and angels came 
down among men. The powers of the world to come over- 
shadowed, and sweetly possessed, and filled every soul. He 
prayed for the uninterrupted progress of the work of God ; 
for the stability of the new converts ; but especially for me : 
and in such strains of heavenly eloquence as must have 
surprised himself, and with such a glowing fervency of soul 
as utterly amazed and overpowered me. May my most 
gracious God answer that wonderful prayer, (for if ever a 
prayer opened heaven, and entered into the ears of the 
Almighty , v and moved him to do yet greater and more won- 
drous things, that prayer surely did,) and bless his precious 
servant, and reward him for his kindness to me, a stranger 
in a strange land ! Amen and amen ! 

I had the privilege of a similar meeting, the following 
night, with the brethren in the East Circuit, in Norfolk 
Street band or school-room. This also was a gracious 
season ; but hardly equal to the previous night. The leaders 
indeed, spoke equally well, and pledged themselves quite as 
heartily and sincerely to take all possible care of the recent 
subjects of mercy. But the Rev. Alexander Bell, and his 
excellent colleagues, who had seen this great work, and who 
took a rejoicing interest in its advancement, were not there ; 
they had gone to their new Circuits. The Rev. Mr. Pilter, 
the new Superintendent, was exceedingly kind, and mani- 
fested a strong desire to have the meeting every way agree- 
able to myself. One or two of the new preachers were 
present, who of course could not be expected to have such 
deep sympathies with the work a3 those who had been so 
ardently engaged in it during the last four eventful months. 
I find it difficult at present to give you those accurate sta- 
tistics which you desire, as to the extent of the revival. 
But the number saved must be very great ; of this I shall 



414 CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 

be better able to inform you on my return from the 3onti- 
nent. The brethren, the leaders and secretaries, will then 
have had time to compare notes ; by which they will ascer- 
tain, with considerable accuracy, the actual accessions to 
the Wesleyan church on the two Circuits ; and the exact 
numbers who belonged to other churches in town and 
country. 

Thus delightfully terminated Mr. Caughey's remarkable 
career in Sheffield. To the curious reader, the following 
statement from a pamphlet published in Sheffield some 
eighteen months after he left, will be deeply interesting. It 
shows how fruitful of permanent good were his wonderful 
efforts. 

The author says : " The annexed Statistical Account of 
the Special Services held in Sheffield, during 1844, by the 
Rev. James Caughey, carefully compiled from the register 
books kept on those occasions, will be viewed with deep 
interest, and may tend to throw light upon some of the 
anomalies hitherto regarded as inseparable from revival 
movements. Perhaps so complete a summary of a revival 
has never before been made public." 

On this extract, Mr. Caughey makes the following 
comments : 

In looking over the table to which the author refers, I 
perceive that more than three thousand sinners were con- 
verted to God ; and upwards of fourteen hundred believers 
professed to have obtained purity of heart, or entire sancti- 
fication. Matt. v. 8 ; 1 Thess. v. 23 ; 1 John iv. IT, 18. 
About eleven hundred of the latter class belonged to the 
two Circuits in the town ; the remainder were members of 
other churches in and around Sheffield. Of those jusifiedj 



CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 415 

Upwards of five hundred were already members; persons 
who either never had been regenerated, though meeting 
regularly in class, or who had been living in a backsliding 
state. Hundreds of the abovementioned three thousand 
persons, were from distant towns, " people of the world," 
living chiefly within the bounds of the Sheffield District, 
and who, doubtless, united with churches in their respective 
neighborhoods. Speaking of those which belonged to Shef- 
field, the author remarks : " With regard to these it may be 
stated, that many either could not be found by the address 
they gave, or never attended class ; some were forbidden to 
join the society by their parents; some left the neighbor- 
hood ; some proved to be impostors ; while many, surrounded 
by the most wicked and abandoned of our race, and com- 
pelled to hold intercourse with them, amidst circumstances 
and influences of the most debasing and demoralizing char- 
acter, were soon jeered or provoked out of their religion, 
and c endured but for a time.' " 

In again referring to the table, I find that one hundred 
and forty-nine were found to belong to churches in town, and 
at a distance. There were, besides, five or six score who 
were not appointed to classes, — who did not, when they 
gave their names to the secretary, decide to meet in class, 
or what church they would join. I cannot but admire the 
business-like manner in which the secretaries of the revival,* 
on both Circuits, performed their duties ; nor the industry, 
patience, and care they have evidently taken in preparing 
materials for this remarkable, important, and well-authenti- 
cated table. For, I have no doubt, the author of the pam- 
phlet received valuable aid from them in presenting the 
English public with such an interesting series of statistics. 

* West Circuit, Mr. John Unwin and Mr. John Jepson. East Circuit, 
Messrs. Abraham Sharman, Jobsi Jones, Jun., and Henry Alcard, Jun. 



416 CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 

Of those converted from the world, " about one hundred 
and thirty-eight were generally under the age of sixteen." 
These were appointed to meet in classes for catechumens; 
and in due time, if faithful to the grace of God, will be 
received into the church as members. The actual increase 
which has been realized from this great revival, by the 
Wesleyan church in Sheffield, is best ascertained from the 
book o£ " Minutes of Conference." That for 1845 now 
lies before me, showing an increase on the previous year, up 
to the March quarter, in the Sheffield two Circuits, of 
between eight and nine hundred members ! To God be all 
the glory ! Amen and amen ! The Sheffield District shows 
an increase on the past year of one thousand four hundred 
and twenty-five members, and one thousand one hundred 
and twenty-eight on trial. So that there is a good prospect 
that the increase in the District, this present year, will be 
large ; so, should any reaction occur in Sheffield itself, the 
District will come up to the help of tne good old town, and 
rescue the honor of the revival.* 

Many who were converted during the above revival, are 
scattered over Methodism in the District, and in other 
churches, and indeed into various parts of the kingdom. 
I meet with some of them in my journeyings, who know me, 
although I am unable, frequently, to recognize them. How 
many times do they hail me with joy, and with heaven 
beaming upon their faces, and tell me what great things God 

* Well, time, that brings about many important events, and tests many 
" works and ways," presents us with the " Minutes " for 1846. The increase 
this year in Sheffield is but small — only fifty. But it is a matter of comfort 
to me that two years will soon have expired, and yet, according to the best 
authenticated documents in Methodism, the M woful reaction," so confidently 
prophesied of by some, has not yet occurred ! May it never ! The District, 
as I expected, announces an increase of upwards of eight hundred members. 
Hallelujah! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ! J. C. 

December, 1346. 



CONCLUDING INCIDENTS IN SHEFFIELD. 417 

wrought for their souls, under my humble ministry m Shef 
field ! My soul rejoices in the Lord, and triumphs in the 
Rock of my salvation. I feel sweetly happy. The revival 
in Sheffield surpassed any thing I had ever before witnessed : 
only think of such multitudes of immortal souls, saved in 
the short space of four months ! I have sometimes feared I 
shall never again see such another work. Blessed be God, 
a revival has commenced in Birmingham, Also ; it is going 
on in great power, and there is a prospect of having 
thousands saved. Hallelujah ! 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CLOSE OF MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

With the preceding chapter we exhausted Mr. Caughey's 
published " Letters " of their revival notices. He intends at 
some future time to issue another volume, containing notes 
of his continental tour, and of his subsequent movements in 
England. But as that is not yet out, we must be content to 
give the reader a hasty sketch of his further movements, up 
to the time of his return to America, from a pamphlet pub- 
lished in London, in 1847, and written by a Wesleyan Meth- 
odist. We begin with this writer's narrative where the last 
chapter concluded, viz. : at the close of the Sheffield revival. 

Mr. Caughey concluded his labors in Sheffield on the 8th 
of September, (1844,) and in a few days started on a tour 
upon the Continent, an account of which will form a consid- 
erable portion of the volumes he is understood to be prepar- 
ing for the press. He visited many of the celebrated cities 
and scenes of France and Italy, gathered information and 
illustrations for his work of " soul saving " as he proceeded, 
and, by the blessing of God, recruited his health. It is said 
that when at the top of St. Peter's, at Rome, he lingered 
behind the company with which he ascended, and, in the pri- 
vacy thus obtained, for a short season, poured out his soul in 
f ervent prayer for the destruction of popery and the conver- 
418 



CLOSE OF MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 419 

sion of its benighted votaries and victims. He returned to 
England on the 15th of November, and after spending a few 
days in London, — where he preached once in the Spitalfields 
Wesleyan chapel, when about twenty souls were saved, — 
proceeded to Sheffield, enjoyed some opportunities of happy 
intercourse with his old friends there, and then went to Hud« 
dersfield, to fulfil the engagement he made at the time the 
friends of that town relinquished their claim in favor of 
Sheffield. 

The Huddersfield special services commenced on Sunday, 
December the 1st, and were continued until the beginning of 
April, 1845. After a tremendous conflict with the powers 
of darkness, the work of salvation proceeded with signal suc- 
cess, and mightily prevailed against all opposing influences. 
In one of the services, a young man, deaf and dumb, came 
under the divine influence. God first converted a companion 
of his, who could converse with him by signs, and who then 
preached Jesus to the " dummy " with his fingers. The in- 
cident was deeply affecting and interesting, and in the end 
the youth was saved gloriously. 

At the close of the Huddersfield "campaign," Mr. Caughey's 
health was seriously affected ; and he was glad to seek pri 
vacy for a short season, with a select company of Christian 
friends, at Thorp Arch, and also at the hospitable mansion of 
B. Wilson, Esq., of Mirfield, near Dewsbury. During the 
succeeding two months, he made excursions to Wakefield, 
Huddersfield, Liverpool, Sheffield, and Hull, at each of which 
places many souls were saved ; and on the 14th of June, 
arrived in York, to commence special services there on the 
morning of Sunday, the 15th. 

York having been favored with a very extensive revival of 
religion three or four years previously, Mr. Caughey, on en- 
tering upon his labors in this ancient city, felt a fear lest he 



420 CLOSE OF MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

might be stepping out of Ms right path, and lest his successes 
should be inferior to those he had experienced in some other 
places. Either this apprehension, or some other undefined 
cause, operated for a time with a depressing influence on his 
spirit. By the middle of July, the number saved was about 
six hundred ; but, up to that time, he could seldom occupy 
more than half an hour with his sermon. " Some think,' ' he 
says in a letter to a friend, " I can preach, and others think 
the contrary ; and I leave them to settle it among them, and 
so the work goes on." It is certain, however, that he soon 
rose above his fears. He had reason to feel that he was in 
his right place. Here was a people prepared at once to 
enter into his plans. He met with an almost unexampled 
unanimity of co-operation on the part of all the preachers on 
the circuit, together with the officers and principal members 
of the society. One sentiment seemed to pervade all classes 
as to the greatness of the work which Grod was working 
among them. 

After spending a few weeks in the smaller places of wor- 
ship in the city, and when he had fully commenced his labors 
in that spacious and elegant structure, the Centenary Chapel, 
the effects of his ministry began to be strikingly manifest. It 
may also be doubted whether he ever rose to loftier heights 
of eloquenee, or uttered more impressive appeals, than dur- 
ing some of the services in this chapel. The following re- 
marks occur in the manuscript journal of one who observed 
him narrowly : " On July 21st, 1845, heard the Rev. 
James Caughey preach in the Centenary Chapel at York. 
The text was, ' It pleased the Father that in him should 
all fulness dwell.' Of all the numerous slanders that have 
been propagated concerning this extraordinary man, surely 
one of the most senseless is that which lays to his charge that 
Christ, in his preaching, is not exalted, and sometimes not 



421 

oven named. I have heard most of the celebrated ministers 
of the present day, but I cannot, at this moment, call to 
mind any instance in which I have heard the glories of the 
Redeemer so magnified as in this morning's discourse. There 
were passages where the preacher inferred the divinity of 
the Saviour's person from the peculiar manner in which some 
of his miracles were wrought, which gave me the best idea I 
have ever obtained of the manner and effect of Whitefield's 
preaching, so far as they are recorded. The whole congre- 
gation seemed, in reality, to be at once ' moved, as the trees 
of the wood are moved with the wind.' " 

In about three months, two thousand persons professed to 
have received good under Mr. Caughey's ministry. These 
included, of course, many from the surrounding district, and 
not a few from other bodies of Christians.* 

While in York, the second volume of his " Letters " was 
published, and had an extensive sale ; about 3,000 copies 
being ordered before it was issued. 

From York Mr. Caughey retired to Scarborough, to obtain 
a little rest ; but the good people there prevailed upon him 
i to preach several times, with the hearty sanction of the Rev. 
John Walsh, the Superintendent, and nearly two hundred 
were saved. After a week's stay, he left Scarborough on 
I the 8th of October, and visited in succession Huddersfield t 
Sheffield, Chesterfield, (a fortnight, seven hundred and thirty 
saved,) Doncaster, (a week, five hundred and twenty-six 
saved,) York, (to take leave,) Huddersfield, Howley, Sheep 

* Justified from the world, 942 ; in society, 372 ; total justified, 1314. Sanc- 
tified, 727. Total 2041. Of those justified from the world, 245 were back- 
' sliders, many of them of eight, ten, twelve, and some even twenty years 
• standing. These were questioned as to the cause of their fall. Of the males 
three fourths referred their downfall to intoxicating drink ; the females, in a 
majority of instances, referred theirs to " marrying an ungodly partner," or 
] " engaging: as servant in an irreligious family." 

86 



422 CLOSE OF MR. CAUGHEV'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

bridge, and Macclesfield, (a week, four hundred saved ;) and 
arrived at the mansion of John Wright, Esq., Spark Brook 
House, Birmingham, on the 6th of December, at the earnest 
solicitation of the Rev. Alexander Bell, Chairman of the 
District, and the Rev. George Turner, Superintendent of the 
Birmingham West Circuit. 

Five months' special services in Birmingham (occasionally 
interrupted by ill health, Missionary meetings, and a short 
visit to Huddersfield and Sheffield) resulted in the salvation 
of between two and three thousand sinners. It was a mighty 
work, and tasked the energies of Mr. Caughey to the utmost. 
Still he came out of the battle invigorated both in body and 
mind. The following hasty note, written at the close of the 
" campaign," will be interesting for two reasons, — it gives a 
rapid, lightning-like glance into the intense heart of the 
writer, and is a fair specimen of the off-hand sort of corre- 
spondence he carries on with his bosom friends during the 
progress of a revival. 

"Birmingham, May 7, 1846. 
"My dear Brother , 

" I preached my farewell last night. Tea-meeting for 
leaders to-night, and to-morrow night. About four thou- 
sand two hundred saved, in both blessings.* To God 
be' all the praise and glory ! My health is better than 
when I came. This is of God also. My soul is happy, and 
deeply humble before God. Nottingham on Sabbath the 10th, 
if all be well. When shall I see you ? I preached out of 
town and out of doors last Sabbath to a multitude of colliers 
— £80 collections for a chapel, but not quite fifty saved. I 
do little in scattering shot here and there. As ever, in Jesus, 

"James Caughey. 

" P. S. I write this at Dr. Melson's. Farewell. J. C." 

* Pardoa and Purity. 



The revival in Nottingham was more glorious than all. 
Mr. Caughey opened his commission there on the 10th of 
May, 1846, and in the short space of one month upwards of 
fourteen hundred were converted to God. Sunday, the 31st 
of May, and two days following, Mr. Caughey spent at 
Castle Donnington, and one hundred and eighty persons were 
converted to Grod. He then returned to Nottingham, and 
completed his engagement on the 12th of June. 

Lincoln then enjoyed the benefit of his labors for a fort- 
night, during which three hundred and sixty-eight were 
brought over from the ranks of Satan, and two hundred and 
eighty- three professed to experience sanctifying grace. From 
thence he went to Boston, where he wrote, " The devil has 
met me on the low grounds of Lincolnshire as Napoleon met 
Wellington on the plains of Belgium. Never have I had 
such a flailing from the public papers." The enemy, how- 
ever, suffered a signal overthrow, and about four hundred 
were saved. 

Passing through Sheffield, on the 23d of July, Mr. 
Caughey proceeded to Borrowash, near Derby, and to Not- 
tingham, to preach occasional sermons ; and returning to the 
north, arrived in Sunderland in time to commence special 
services on Sunday, August 2d, at the invitation of the Rev. 
W. Horton, the Superintendent. 

There was a great work in Sunderland. At first it moved 
slowly ; but gathering momentum as it proceeded, it resulted 
in the salvation of nine hundred and thirty-eight persons in 
somewhat less than five weeks. Of these, seven hundred and 
eleven were cases of justification, that is, three hundred and 
sixty who had previously been members of society, and three 
hundred and fifty-one sinners and backsliders. At South 
Shields also, which Mr. Caughey visited one Sabbath during 
bis stay in Sunderland, about seventy were saved, many of 
; em backsliders. When, on the 4th of September, he was 



424 CLOSE OF ME. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

preparing to leave Sunderland, the members of society pre- 
sented a petition to their Superintendent urgently requesting 
him to invite Mr. Caughey to visit the circuit again. 

From Sunderland, Mr. Caughey went to Gateshead, being 
invited to that circuit by the Eev. S. Dixon, the Superintend- 
ent. Before the close of the first week, one hundred and 
twenty-six were saved. On the 12th of September, he re- 
tired to Scarborough, partly for seclusion, and partly to 
recruit his health, which was failing. 

After reposing a while in Scarborough, Mr. Caughey visited 
Asburn, Eutoxeter, Birstall, Todmorden Vale, and Bourne, 
with his usual success. These labors, with flying visits to 
various other places, employed the winter and spring of 1846 
and 1847. In July, 1847, believing it was the will of Prov- 
idence he should return to America, he made preparations 
for an Atlantic voyage. 

Before we introduce the reader to the scenes of that voy- 
age we call his attention to the following undeniable evidences 
of the genuineness of the impression which induced him to go 
to Europe. The voice of God whispered thus to his heart : 

" The will of God is that thou shouldst visit Europe. He 
shall be with thee there, and give thee many seals to 
thy ministry. He has provided thee with funds. Make thy 
arrangements accordingly ; and next Conference, ask liberty 
from the proper authorities, and it shall be granted thee. 
Yisit Canada first ; when this is done, sail for England. 
God shall be with thee there — thou shalt have no want in 
all thy journeyings, and thou shalt be brought back in safety 
to America. " 

Such was the " call." Behold the verification of its partis 
ulars up to the time of his departure from England, in the fol 
lowing statements, taken from the before-mentioned pamphlet 



CLOSE OP MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 425 

The terms of Mr. Caughey's " call," as previously quoted, 
are directive and predictive. 

1st. Directive. — " These matters which trouble thee 
must be let entirely alone. The will of God is that thou 
shouldst visit Europe. He has provided thee with fundSc 
Make thy arrangements accordingly ; and, next Conference, 
ask liberty from the proper authorities. Visit Canada first ; 
when this is done, sail for England." These directions 
scarcely call for remark, except on the subject of funds. 
Mr. Caughey informs us that he had " funds sufficient for a 
two years' tour ; " and that he intended " to spend at least 
two years in Europe." It is now nearly six years since he 
landed in Liverpool, having spent the previous ten months in 
Canada. 

2d. Predictive. — " He shall give thee many seals to thy 
ministry. Liberty from the proper authorities shall be grant- 
ed thee. God shall be with thee in England — thou shalt 
have no want in all thy journeyings, and thou shalt be brought 
back in safety to America." It has been seen that Mr. 
Caughey had no difficulty in obtaining leave of absence from 
his Conference. The remaining points must now be noticed. 

" He shall give thee many seals to thy ministry." — Mr. 
Caughey's ministry in Canada was eminently successful; 
but as I have no authorized report, besides his own statement 
of the results, I will lay no stress upon them. What they 
have been in England we know, and have the highest con- 
nexional authority to assist us in proving. According to 
the Minutes of Conference, the increase to the principal so- 
cieties which have been favored with Mr. Caughey's labors 
was, in Liverpool, 404 ; in Leeds, 529 ; in Hull, 935 ; in 
Sheffield, 864 ; in Huddersfield, 749 ; in York, 210 ; and in 
Chesterfield, 230. The Birmingham Society had an increase 
of 663 at the Michaelmas Quarter-day, 1846, as compared 
36* 



426 CLOSE OF MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

with the Minutes of 1845 ; and in every other town he has 
visited there has been a corresponding increase. But this 
statement only shows the local effect of Mr. Caughey's labors. 
Numbers of persons have travelled ten, twenty, thirty, and 
even fifty miles, to obtain the benefits of the revivals which 
his ministry originated, and returned home rejoicing in the 
salvation of the gospel. In fact, the return to Conference 
does not represent one half the actual good effected in the 
conversion of sinners, as the following statement, drawn up 
from authentic sources, will show : — 

Justified. Sanctified. TotaL 

* Dublin 700 100 800 

* Limerick • 130 .... . 30 160 

* Cork 300 50 350 

* Bandon 70 20 90 

* Liverpool 1300 400 1700 

* Leeds 1600 1000 2600 

* Hull 2300 ..... 900 3200 

Sheffield 3352 1448 4800 

Huddersfield 1879 755 2634 

York 1314 727 2041 

* Birmingham 2800 1400 4200 

Nottingham 1412 553 1965 

Lincoln 368 283 651 

* Boston 260 140 ..... . 400 

Sunderland 711 227 938 

* Gateshead 80 46 126 

* Scarborough 134 .... . 66 200 

Chesterfield 599 137 736 

Doncaster 356 170 526 

* Macclesfield 260 .... . 140 400 

* Wakefield 200 130 330 

* Various visits, London, Leeds, Hull, 
Sheffield, Huddersfield, Manchester, 
Belper, and places in Derbyshire, 
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Lanca- 
shire, &c, at a moderate computa- 
tion 1500 500 4000 






21,625 9,222 9),847 

* The numbers stated for these places are approximations — rather nndei 

than over the truth. I have not succeeded in obtaining particular acruuntd 






CLOSE OE MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 427 

Thus there is every reason to believe that in England alone 
Mr. Caughey's ministry has been the means of turning more 
than twenty thousand persons from darkness to light, fi;m 
sin unto holiness. I have nothing here to do with the allege- 
ment that many of these may have become backsliders : the 
Church has had to mourn over such ever since the days of 
the Apostles. I stand upon the great fact, that unusual 
numbers of sinners have been converted to God in conse- 
quence of Mr. Caughey's special call to visit England ; that 
many, very many of these remain steadfast and blameless 
to the present day ; and that this is in strict accordance 
with, and a literal fulfilment of, the terms, predictive and 
otherwise, of that call, which was committed to writing be- 
fore Mr. Caughey left the United States, and published in 
this country almost at the commencement of the period of 
his greatest success. 

" Thou shalt have no want in all thy journeyings." — " The 
possession of a few hundreds of dollars," said Mr. Caughey, 
in August, 1840, referring to a period anterior to his call to 
visit Europe, " had often made me very uneasy. I doubted 
the propriety of laying up treasure on earth. The cause of 
missions stood in need of what I possessed, but still I was 
restrained. Now I clearly saw that God had provided me 
with these funds in order to make me willing to obey the call, 
and to save me from embarrassment in my travels." Like a 
man of sense and prudence, he appears to have calculated 
how long his own funds would support him, and determined 
accordingly the period of his tour. He intended to spend 
" at least two years " in Europe ; yet Providence has so 
ordered it that, though he has been nearly six years in these 
kingdoms, and since his arrival lost nearly all the money he 
brought with him by the bankruptcy of the party with whom 
\t was deposited, he has had " no want ; " his revival oper- 



428 CLOSE OF MR. CAUGHEY'S LABORS IN ENGLAND. 

ations have never been impeded for lack of funds ; and thus 
the prediction has been fulfilled to the letter. 

" Thou shall be brought bach in safety to America" — 
This, it will be seen by the next chapter, was fulfilled also. 
Who ever had a false impression so significantly sustained by 
the providence of God as was this call of Mr. C. ? Not one. 
What then is the irresistible conclusion ? Why, clearly, that 
Mr. Caughey's commission was of God. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE VOYAGE HOME. 

The following letter to some of Mr. Caughey's Hudders- 
field friends, written on his arrival in New York, gives a 
very unique account of his homeward voyage. It will be 
read with deep interest. 

To Messrs. Joseph Webb and Thomas Mallinson, of 
JSuddersfield. 

New York, Nov. 8, 18-47. 
My dear Brethren, 

On the 20th day of July, 1847, after taking a most 
tender farewell of a large number of precious friends, who 
had accompanied me on board the steamer Hibernia, that 
noble vessel weighed anchor, and " stood down " the Mersey. 
With a deeply affected heart I watched the motions of the 
small steamer which bore my friends to the shore — friends 
dear to my soul — who, to the last hour of my footsteps on 
British soil, to the last moment of our parting, lavished upon 
me the tokens of their boundless affection. 

" There are moments in life that are never forgot, 
Which brighten, and brighten, as time steals away; — 
! these hallowed remembrances cannot decay ; 
But they come on the soul with a magical thrill ; 
And in days that are darkest they kindly will stay, 
And the heart in its last throb will beat with them stall." 

423 



430 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

But, alas ! that was a sad, sad day ; and had it not been 
for the hope of meeting these beloved ones again, upon 
earth, I should have been heart-broken. My straining 
eyes followed the little steamer, till it was lost to recognition 
among other boats ; and when I no longer knew the one 
around which my affections should entwine, wandering vision 
found repose upon Liverpool, where I knew that not a few 
of my spiritual children resided, and in whose streets many 
of my friends had arrived, with whom I had parted an hour 
or two before. Liverpool at length disappeared, and lastly, 
the happy shores of England itself — " that little world, 
that precious stone, set like an unfading emerald in the 
silver sea," as one of her own poets has expressed it ; and 
I was left alone to my own reflections. My mind was 
greatly confused and agitated ; seemed as if awaking from 
a troubled dream. " I have finished the work, Lord, thou 
hast given me to do. If thou, Lord, shouldst say, ' Nay,' 
the responsibility must rest somewhere else than upon thy 
poor servant. Longer I could not have stayed in England, 
without rendering myself like thee, my Master, — 'a stone 
of stumbling, and rock of offence;' — not to the wicked 
world, but to some good men, whose prejudices, and attach- 
ment to church order, would not allow them to appreciate 
my works and motives. By remaining longer on those 
shores, now lost, perhaps forever, to my eyes, more evil than 
good, all things considered, would most likely have resulted. 
Farewell, England ! ' sunshine gilds no coast where Grod 
is served more purely than in thee ! ' Farewell, Ireland ! 
where I have seen many hundreds of sinners converted; 
— afflicted, distracted Ireland; 'the place where first we 
breathed, who can forget ? ' Farewell, Zion ! Farewell, 
friends of my heart! — ' hearts in union mutually disclosed* 

1 Hearts that the world in vain has tried, 
And sorrow but more closely tied ; • -^ 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 431 

To you, a tearful agonizing farewell ! And farewell, poor 
perishing sinners, whom I would fain have brought into the 
path to heaven, by thousands, and hundreds of thousands. 
Farewell, ye men of God ! ye ministers of his, ye local 
preachers and leaders, officers of Emmanuel's hosts, who 
helped me often to push the battle to the gates, and to stent 
the victory close by the trembling gates of hell. Farewell \ 
farewell ! my children in the Lord ; the seal of my apostle- 
ship are ye in the Lord ; whom I found in the hand of the 
enemy, led captive by him at his will, and whom I left 
in thy care, blessed Jesus ! chief Shepherd, and Bishop 
of souls. Keep them, Saviour, from the evils which are 
in the world ! may none of them backslide from thee, or 
dishonor thy cause. Amen ! " More I cannot describe 
upon paper. The lights on the Isle of Man appeared about 
twilight, and shortly after the quarter moon went down 
behind a bank of cloud. The evening was pleasant, with a 
placid sea, which suited the state of my weak body and 
mind. 

" Soft hour ! which makes the wish, and melts the heart 
Of those who sail the seas, on the first day 
When they from their sweet friends are torn apart." 

I walked the deck till a late hour, lost in thought ; — 
" thoughts of the heart, how soft ye flow ! mournful and 
Bweet, as music's dying fall;" — fraught with many a 
treasured hope, and tender memory, darting to regions 
afar ; now with lately-parted friends, and the next moment 
with expectant friends in North America. Both hemi- 
spheres were visited, quicker than the scintillations of the 
Aurora Borealis. My whole being had, as it were, resolved 
itself into memory, — " an ocean of memories." Some one 
has termed the memory, the image chamber of the soul. 
Mine was that, truly ; and many images were there, and 



432 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

mingled pictures, "like broken scenery mirrored on tho 
surface of a troubled stream." Some were delightfully 
pleasing, because associated with the expectation of soon 
mingling my tears of joy with those of long-tried friends in 
America; while others were oppressively sad, on account 
of friends I might possibly meet no more upon earth ; and 
these crossed each other and intermingled, "as rich sun- 
beams and dark bursts of rain meet in the sky." But 
enough of this. 

" The dangers I had 'scaped, the broken snare, 
The disappointed foe, deliverance found 
Unlooked for, life preserved, and peace restored, 
Fruits of omnipotent eternal love," 

called for loudest songs of praise. " Bless the Lord, my 
soul!" 

The following morning we were running along the northern 
coast of Ireland, " its weather-beaten and bleached rocka 
from the green waves emerging." At the close of day land 
had almost disappeared. 

"Away! awav we steer, 

Upon the ocean's breast, 
And dim the distant heights appear 

Like clouds along the "west : 
While our ship, — lonely as the bird, 

Whose home is on the wing," — 

hurried onward, fearlessly, into the bosom of night. Morn 
ing came, and nothing but sky and water appeared around ; 
our ship, "poised in the centre of a sphere," wrestling 
hard with a rolling treacherous sea, " a working sea remain- 
ing from a storm," and nearly all the passengers sick, among 
whom I also was " a complainant." And old voyagers there 
were who grumbled heavily at the loss of both breakfast and 
dinner, a thing they did not appear to have been accustomed 
to ; relish such usage they neither could nor would, and so 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 433 

revenged their affronts by dashing most vociferously, and 
without a word of apology, the whole of " stomach contents" 
directly in the face of the sea, " fearless of old ocean's face 
Dr thundering frown." During three or four days there 
were some sturdy contests of this kind, between the haughty 
sea and stubborn passengers, and many an interchange of 
mutual affronts. A few retired from the scene of conflict, 
concealing their defeat between decks ; others, with myself, 
scorned to retreat till it could be done " with good grace," 
under cover of night. The day passed tediously away; 
night came, and so did morning, bleak and dreary enough ; 
but an array of pale faces on deck, proclaimed if we were 
weak, we were still unconquered. 

I The sea at length became less rude and more civil. The 
aspect of old ocean was still sufficiently rugged and dreary, 

l but there was a sensible improvement in its spirit and tone. 

i " The billows roll with pleasurable swell," says some votary 

I of the muses. I wonder if he was ever sea-sick. The 
uneasy swell continued, but the pulsations of ocean's breast 
beat less heavily, and so did those of our " inner man." 
Appetite gradually returned ; there was a better muster at 

i the saloon table ; but a few stragglers, among whom was 
your friend, were content with a place on deck, " under 
open sky," plate on knee, suspicious of treachery, fearing 
a surprise. Confidence, however, gradually returned ; and 
on the evening of the fifth day, there were some appear- 
ances of sociability, for a most unsocial thing is this sea- 
sickness. The sentiment of one could now be reciprocated : 



" The last line of light is now crossing the sea, 
And the first star is lighting its lamp in the sky." 

On Sabbath, 25th July, the captain requested me to 
conduct divine service. Being somewhat out of order, I 
37 



434 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

requested him, in return, to read prayers, and I would 
preach ; which he did in a most devout manner, and with 
good effect. After service I was addressed by a gentleman, 
thus : " Sir, some did not like your sermon ; but I did. It 
was short, but sweet." Shortly after, a British officer, on his 
way to join his regiment in Quebec, stepped up, and said, 
" Sir, I have heard that to-day which I have been desiring 
in vain to hear during the last thirty years — a short sermon. 
Sir." The major appeared highly pleased, not with the 
doctrine, nor style of the sermon, but with its brevity ; which 
io those versed like himself in the woes of long sermons, he 
considered an absolute luxury. Perhaps I had preached 
longer than the major was aware ; but no matter, he was 
really happy to find one man, after a search of thirty years, 
who had better sense than to weary his hearers. He then 
entered into a lengthy detail of his sufferings from " the 
intolerable infliction of long sermons." Poor man! his 
suffering had weighed so heavily upon his nervous sensibili- 
ties, that the bare remembrance of them was sufficient to 
rouse all his energies into repugnance. He became really 
eloquent, " and every feeling uttered, fully felt ; " but, 
unfortunately, his excitement carried him, perhaps, much 
further than he had intended — "that preaching might as 
well be dispensed with altogether." To this I demurred, 
which set him on the defensive. Finding it rather difficult to 
maintain his position, he withdrew his artillery, and retreated, 
supposing, probably, that I was as guilty as any of my cloth 
in "long sermon outrage;" and he was not far mistaken. 

As day succeeded day, our prospects brightened. Few 
there were who were not cheered by the anticipation of 
meeting friends on the approaching shores, and all seemed 
to be more reconciled to "life at sea." Our fine steamer 
flew along the waters, ruling the elements and free waveg, 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 435 

" impelled as though she felt a soul within her heart of oak ; * 
reminding one of those quaint lines of Raleigh : 

" Ye might have seen the frothy billows fry 
Under the ship, as through them she went, 
That seemed the waves were into ivory, 
Or ivory into waves were sent." 



I On Saturday, the eleventh day from Liverpool, we hailed 
( the shores of North America, frowning through the folds of 
1 a dense fog ; and, on the same day, we entered the harbor 
1 of Halifax, Nova Scotia, thankful to our heavenly Father 
[ for his abounding mercies. A brother recognized me as 
' soon as I stepped ashore, who remembered with joy my visit 
! in 1841. We enjoyed a pleasant walk through the city, 
i returned to dinner on board, and after posting a few letters 
1 for friends in England, our steamer was again in motion. 
[ The fog became thicker than ever, so as to render our 
1 egress from the harbor hazardous ; but we regained the sea 
1 in safety, and steered for Boston, U. S. 
( Next day, (Sabbath,) the captain desired me to officiate ; 
] but I informed him there was a Baptist minister on board, 
i and that Christian courtesy required he should be requested 
1 to preach ; and, that I doubted not most of the passengers 
1 would be highly pleased to hear him. The captain kindly 
i consented, and we had a profitable season. A few were 
( displeased with the preacher. The introduction of the hor- 
< rors of hell, and the rich man calling for a drop of water to 
1 cool his tongue, could not be pardoned in so polite an assem- 
bly. I defended the good brother with all kindness and 
' plainness. The major again made his appearance, and I 
could not well keep my eye off him, remembering his mortal 
distaste for long sermons ; and felt for both him and the 
1 preacher, the latter not being aware of his prejudices. A 
1 few minutes, however, decided the matter. The major began 



436 THE VOYAQE HOME. 

to grope about for his hat ; and I was glad to turn my eye 
In another direction, as he boldly marched doorward, and 
made his exit ; thinking, doubtless, that when in the church 
at Quebec, at the head of his regiment, he could not with so 
" good grace " reprove the prolixity of the preacher. I had 
some liberty in the concluding prayer. 

On the same night blue lights were projected from deck 
in hopes of " signalizing " the outward bound mail steamer; 
but the compliment not being returned by the vessel whose 
watch-lights had attracted our attention, we concluded we 
had mistaken the ship. The night was dark and dreary ; 
but all were cheered by the hope of a safe arrival at the 
port of destination on the morrow ; a hope which a kind 
Providence did not disappoint. 

Morning came, and with it a very bad fog. Supposing 
land to be near, a sharp look-out was maintained on all sides. 
Guns were fired at intervals for a harbor pilot, but in vain. 
We continued to near the shore, which was as yet but an 
object of faith ; it might be within gunshot, or at a consid- 
erable distance. The " random gun," the heavy plunge of 
the lead, and report of soundings, had a solemn effect. 
Suddenly we had a glimpse of rugged rocks, like spectres 
starting out of the fog, and disappearing again. We stood 
in admiration of the confidence, prudence, and judgment of 
captain, officers, and men. Our coast pilot, embarrassed 
more and more by the encompassing fog, ascended the main- 
mast, in hopes of overlooking it. He succeeded, and from 
his giddy position gave his commands to the helmsman, who 
obeyed his injunctions, in faith, dashing the vessel headlong 
into an " obscurity that might be felt," regardless of rocks 
which frowned sudden terror, and which as suddenly disap- 
peared. The fog dispersed ; all was well ; we found our- 
selves in the " narrows" leading to Boston harbor; and saw 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 437 

Boston itself, reposing like a brilliant gem, enchased within 
a soft and pretty arrangement of scenery ; the whole lighted 
up with that freshness and beauty so peculiar to an American 
summer morning. 

It was noon before we got our baggage ashore. The day 
became extremely hot, which, to us who had been exposed 
to the sea breezes and to weather singularly chilly and raw, 
was very oppressive. The hotel to which we were conducted, 
being pleasantly situated, we concluded to remain a day or 
two to recruit. " I had hardly got rid of the rocking sensa- 
tion of the ship," remarked one similarly circumstanced to 
ourselves, " and this being but my second night ashore, I 
slept as a landsman does when he once more gains firm 
earth. On the former day, when walking, my very toes 
grasped the ground, as if each was a feeler. I clung to it 
with my feet, and planted them on land like the sea-horse 
climbing an iceberg." My nights, for some time after land- 
ing, were of a restless character ; on waking up, I hardly 
ever realized myself on shore. But my soul was continually 
happy and thankful. Gratitude to my good and gracious 
God ever animated my heart. He had vouchsafed to his 
unworthy servant, in answer to the fervent prayers of many 
thousands, a safe and pleasant voyage, and speedy, occupy- 
ing only about twelve days and a half from Liverpool, Wo 
learned, indeed, from the public papers, that a few degrees 
from our position on the Atlantic, a vessel had encountered 
a tremendous gale, on the night of the 30th July, which 
carried away her mainmast, together with fore and mizzen 
topmast and sails, but it had no commission against us. 
Shortly after we landed, another terrific gale swept the 
American coast, which resulted in many disasters, with loss 
of life. But he who holds the winds in his fist and the 
waters in tae hollow of his hand, held the elements iu 
37* 



438 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

restraint, till we were out of the reach of their fury. " Doth 
Job fear God for nought ? hast thou not made a hedge about 
him, and about all that he hath on every side?" was 
Satan's complaint concerning Job. God can plant his hedge 
as a defence around his servants at sea, as firmly as on land, 
and can say thereby to the winds and waves, " Thus far 
shalt thou go, and no farther." Ocean may fling his moun- 
tain waves against it, and the prince of the power of the air 
may sometimes, for aught we know, gather the winds of 
heaven in one collected blast, charged with the strength and 
wrath of hell, involving sea and sky, but in vain ! the hedge 
is there, — the blast of hell is paralyzed, — there is no 
breakwater so effectual as the hedge of God's right hand 
planting. 

I left Boston for New York, where I was joyfully received 
by Mr. and Mrs. John Caughey (cousins) and family. From 
thence I proceeded up the Hudson River to Newburgh, and 
took my sister and family by surprise. We had a joyful 
meeting. From Newburgh I set out for Troy and Lansing- 
burgh, the highest navigable point of the Hudson, and 
preached at both places; thence to Whitehall, where I 
formerly received orders for Europe. I landed there about 
five o'clock in the morning, and, without making myself 
known to any one, I hastened up the rocky steeps to Provi- 
dence Path. It is impossible to describe my feelings when 
my feet paced that Path once more. My heart was filled 
with love and joy, my eyes with tears, and my mouth with 
praises. The rocks rang with shouts of joy. This was my 
u triumphal ." No human eye saw me, no human ear heard 
my bursting joy — my acclamations ! Angels, I cannot 
but think, were spectators, and shared in the "triumph" 
which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, had granted to the 
Weakest and meanest of the servants of Heaven. ! it 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 439 

was a time never to be forgotten. I had not expected such 
a great blessing ; my soul was taken by surprise, and was 
caught up into the chariot of love. No Roman hero ever 
returned to Rome with such a glow of happiness in his 
bosom; none surely ever enjoyed his triumphal entry into 
the Roman capital, as I did mine, amidst the rocks of Prov- 
idence Path. When words were exhausted, and I stood in 
adoring wonder, not knowing what more to say, that fine 
hymn rolled in upon memory, and fired my soul afresh. It 
was quite unpremeditated ; that is, it was not thought of 
in view of the occasion: rather I would believe, it was 
prompted by the Spirit of God, and my willing soul seized 
it, and made it the vehicle to convey its loftiest emotions 
of gratitude and joy to the feet of Christ my Lord : 

" This, this is the God I adore, 

My faithful, unchangeable Friend ; 
Whose love is as great as his power, 

And neither knows measure nor end. 
'Tis Jesus, the First and the Last, 

Whose mercy shall guide me safe home ; 
I'll praise him for all that is past, 

And trust him for all that 's to come." 

And I sang as if heaven and earth should hear. The 
Lord had performed his every promise, and fulfilled all his 
intimations of good things to come, which he had made me 
to understand, when he gave me my European commission! 
and he had brought me back again in peace and safety, 
according to his word ; and, had I held my peace, the rocks 
around Providence Path might well have cried out. 

I then walked down into a lonely glen, another place 
sacred to memory ; where, some weeks after my call to 
Europe, and when the following words were resting upon my 
heart with a sweet influence, " I must preach the gospel 
under other skies;" when walking, engaged in deep com- 




440 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

munion with God, I observed, on looking up, how rapidly 
the clouds were careering along the sky. I fell upon my 
knees and sang : 

" Who points the clouds their course, 
Whom winds and seas obey, 
He shall direct my wandering feet, 
He shall point out my way." 

And now that I had returned, and the Lord had made all 
his goodness to pass before me, how could I pass that glen 
and not turn in thither, kneel upon the same green turf, and 
sing the same verse I had sung there eight years before ? 
Then, indeed, it was the language of confiding faith and 
unwavering trust ; now, of confidence and certainty of knowl- 
edge ; but both dispositions were equally pleasing to God, 
although the latter was now the easier and happier feeling 
of the two. Here again, I was blessed, in substituting " he 
has directed my wandering feet, he has pointed out the 
way." Had some musical critics indeed been present, they 
would have been alarmed for the fate of the tune; but it 
was for the ears of God alone ; and was accepted on account 
of the sweet melody made in the heart to the Lord. Eph. 
v. 19. On the same day I went on board the steamer 
Whitehall, and sailed for Burlington, Vt., a pretty town on 
the eastern banks of Lake Champlain, where I received a 
hearty welcome to my American home, by my dear friends, 
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Haynes. All glory and praise be 
unto God ! Amen. Since my arrival in America, I have 
travelled nearly two thousand miles, preached in several 
places, and have seen a few sinners converted to God. 

Last week I visited Poughkeepsie, the residence of Bishop 
Hedding. He was not at home, but was expected daily. 
I concluded to await the arrival of the noon steamer, deter 
mining to remain, should the Bishop arrive by her ; if not, 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 441 

to proceed by the same boat down the river. Providentially 
the Bishop was on board. He received me most cordially, 
and I returned with him to his mansion. 

After some conversation with the Bishop, I desired to be 
alone with God ; excused myself for an hour, and walked 
out. I had not gone far before God met me, and filled my 
heart with love. My soul rejoiced with exceeding joy ; all 
within me shouted his praise. Ah ! I thought, this will do. 
God is mine, and I am his ; he is on my side ; no evil can 
happen. All is well ! I felt nothing in my heart but pure 
love to God and man. Hallelujah ! That night I preached 
in the church contiguous to the Bishop's residence, and a 
number of persons came forward to be prayed for ; but, as 
I had to leave before the close of the service, I did not 
learn the results. 

Yesterday we commenced " special services " in one of 
our churches in this city. The congregation was rather 
small, when compared with those I had seen in England ; 
but there was some feeling ; and we are praying, hoping 
and believing, for a general outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
upon the population of this great city. The results may form 
the material for another communication. My health, thank 
God, is very good. 

As to my future movements in this country, I can say 
nothing certain. I purpose to walk closely with God ; to 
watch intently the providential cloud, and follow it. My 
soul has been weak since my arrival, and I have not had my 
usual liberty in preaching, nor success; — have been much 
buffetted by the enemy, and weakened by various causes, 
not necessary now to mention. But I would encourage 
myself in the Lord, that these circumstances are a prelude 
to a succession of victories. I have felt a loss in my soul in 
returning into the hands of the Lord my European commis- 



442 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

sion. While I held that, all the energies of soul and body 
were consecrated to it, and engaged in carrying out its pur- 
port. My American has not been so clearly denned, nor so 
satisfactorily renewed. I feel somewhat like an officer of the 
army on furlough, and longing once more to lead the hosts of 
God to battle, and to victory. 

" To act, to suffer, may be nobly great, — 
But Nature's mightiest effort is to wait." 

Since his return, this beloved brother has spent his summers 
mostly in literary labors at his favorite residence in Burling- 
ton, Vermont. In the winter months he has labored chiefly 
at New York, Albany, Providence, and Lowell. We find 
the following notice in the London Wesleyan Times, of hi3 
labors in Providence : 

Our Chesnut street charge in Providence, Rhode Island, 
is enjoying a most blessed work of God, under the labors of 
the Rev. James Caughey, a brother well known on your side 
of the water. Perhaps a short account of this work will be 
acceptable to your readers. Mr. Caughey commenced his 
labors here the first Sabbath in December last, under 
somewhat unfavorable circumstances. The society was quite 
low in spirituality ; but few possessed the revival spirit, and but 
few, comparatively, were ready to act for the salvation of souls. 
There was, however, a desire on the part of some to witness 
a revival, while a few were earnestly praying for it. Mr. 
Caughey was most cordially received among them, and a 
good number at once rallied around him. His preaching 
soon took effect. Multitudes began to feel that all was not 
right. It was a time of great heart-searching. Many who 
had been members of the church for years became alarmed 
for their safety. They came to the altar and sought a clear 
witness of their justification, and were soon rejoicing in the 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 443 

knowledge of the forgiveness of sins. About the second 
week of the meeting, the work commenced among sinners. 
From that time to the present, the work has been going on 
gloriously among them. There has been scarcely a night 
but what awakenings and conversions have been witnessed. 
In some instances the large altar, at which about thirty-five 
can kneel, has been literally crowded with those seeking 
mercy. Probably about two hundred have obtained a clear 
sense of justification since the meetings commenced, and more 
than one half of them from the world. Persons of almost all 
ages and classes have been subjects of the revival, though, 
as is usually the case, the larger proportion saved are among 
the middle aged and youth. Some of the most hard-hearted 
and wicked have found mercy. Some who were infidels, Uni- 
versalists, sceptics, Sabbath-breakers, and profane, are found 
among the happy, rejoicing converts. Several heads of fam- 
ilies have been saved. Husbands and wives, parents and 
children, have been enabled to rejoice, for the first time, in 
God's pardoning love. Several members of the Bible classes 
connected with our Sabbath School have been made unspeak- 
ably happy. Members of the Baptist and Congregational 
churches have been blessed at our altar. A large number of 
backsliders have been reclaimed. The work of entire sanctifi- 
cation has progressed with that of conversion. At our love- 
feast on the 7th inst., at which about one hundred spoke of 
a present salvation, a large number bore testimony that the 
" blood of Jesus Christ, his Son," had cleansed them " from 
all sin." It was a most glorious season ! We have received 
nearly fifty on probation during the meetings ; several have 
united with other churches, and probably as many more will 
join soon. But the work is still going on in power. Last 
evening our altar was nearly full of persons, most of whom 
were seeking mercy. Mr. Caughey has usually preached 



444 THE VOYAGE HOME. 

every evening in the week, except Monday and Saturday 
evenings; and for about six weeks he has preached four 
times during the week in the afternoons. The after- 
noon meetings have been signally blessed to believers. His 
preaching has been " with power." We have wondered that 
any one could withstand its convincing and searching power. 
His great business is to win souls to Christ, and he is greatly 
honored and blessed in his work. How many seals he will 
have to his ministry ! Though the work is still going on, he 
thinks he must leave us soon, to seek for souls in other places. 
I need not tell you he has many warm friends here, who seem 
quite unwilling to let him go. They seem afraid they shall 
" see his face no more." His labors are in great demand. 
" Come and help us ! " is reaching him from almost every 
point. 

Glorious results have followed his labors in the other places 
named above. God is with him. The people love him. 
What his future history will be, God, the Omniscient, can 
alone discover. 



APPENDIX 



The following letters, the first from Mr. Caughey, and 
the second from the Kev. James Everett, will be read with 
interest by the friends of revivals. Mr. E.'s letter is very 
ably written, and furnished an effectual shield against the 
poisoned darts of those enemies to revival movements who 
attacked Mr. C. in England. It is introduced by Mr. 
Caughey in the following words: 

The following letter was written by the Rev. James 
Everett to an inquiring friend. It was inclosed to me a 
few days since, with permission to make what use of it I 
pleased. Having obtained leave of Mr. Everett to publish 
it among my printed Letters, I now do so with no small 
degree of pleasure. It contains, certainly, an ingenious 
apology for the matter and manner of my preaching, which, 
it seems, have excited a great deal of interest, if not specu- 
lation, in certain quarters. 

Since my arrival in England, I have endeavored to preach 
the gospel of God my Saviour in sincerity and in truth, and 
according to the ability God has given. My manner of 
illustrating the truths of the gospel, I cannot consider alto- 
gether singular or peculiar to myself, as there are many 
ministers who avail themselves of similar advantages for the 
38 445 



446 APPENDIX. 

elucidation of truth. It is not howevei improbable that I 
may sometimes draw more largely upon nature and active 
life for similes than many of my brethren. I often think 
there is a necessity for this, circumstanced as I am with a 
crowd of sinners around me, composed of various grades of 
character, who must be brought first to understand, and then 
to feel the truth ; and this, not for a few meetings only, but 
throughout a series of services in the same town, and 
extending through a succession of several months. 

Bold as have been my appeals to sinners, and mysterious 
and hazardous as have been some of my delineations of 
character, and frequently as the bow has been drawn at a 
venture, I know my heart is right with God : and even 
those who have heard, with amaze, those appeals to certain 
characters, have been afterwards compelled to acknowledge 
that He has confirmed the word by signs following. 

James Caughey. 
Spark Brook House, Birmingham, Feb. 16, 1846. 

The following is Mr. Everett's letter: 

York, November 18, 1845. 
My dear Friend H * * *, 

The objections noticed by you, to the Kev. James 
Caughey, are only such as have taken the round of the 
social circle, and absolutely become stale by repetition. I 
have heard them so often in my wanderings, that they have 
now become like the dust on the causeway along which I 
walk, and are passed over with the buoyant step of a youth 
of eighteen. It aifords me pleasure to find that you are 
breaking away from your prejudices, and that the excellent 
persons to whom you refer have also got their minds disa- 
bused on the subject. Most of the objections have originated 



APPENDIX. 447 

either in ignorance or malice — proceeding, in the first 
instance, from the professors of religion, and, in the second, 
from the profane ; designed, of course, in the one case, and 
undesigned in the other: and the two uniting in their 
progress through society, have formed, at length, a kind ot 
common stock, out of which, persons so disposed, are helping 
themselves — employing at the same time such latitude of 
meaning, and such vividness of coloring, as occasionally to 
give a new face and form to detached portions ; not unfre- 
quently uttering them with such an air of the oracular, as 
to impress you with the notion that the oracle has spoken 
for the first time, and that the objection is the result of 
personal observation and special investigation. It is amusing, 
in one view, to find the "wise says" met with in Ireland, 
struggling to obtain currency in England, and after passing 
from lip to ear, winding their way through almost every 
grade of society, from John o' Groat's house in Scotland to 
Land's End in Cornwall, passing off very often in the shape 
of " new discoveries." In listening to the tales of oral 
reporters, I am often reminded of Mr. Wesley's remark to 
the celebrated Beau Nash, who, on demanding the authority 
of the allegations of the latter, and being informed that he 
spake from " common report," very significantly and pun- 
gently retorted, " I dare not judge of you by common 
report." This was admirable, and must have been felt like 
the keen edge of a razor. Common report, in fact, is rarely 
to be trusted with either sentiment, expression, or character. 
Many an honest man, on the testimony of such a witness, 
would grace the gallows. The immaculate Saviour of man 
would not escape censure from the very creatures he came 
to save ; nor would the reporters themselves, if tried at the 
same bar, escape serious blame in other matters, at the 
moment they are laying the " flattering unction " to their 
souls, of personal innocence. 



448 APPENDIX. 

" 0, wad some power the giftie gie us, 
To see oursels as others see us, 
It wad frae monie a blunder free us ! " 

The objection to Mr. Caughey's want of filial affection, 
supported as was supposed, by the fact of his leaving 
America with the professed design of visiting his mother in 
Ireland, and of being months in that island without ever 
once going near her, is on a par with most of the others ; for 
the truth is, that his mother resided in America, and died 
there before he quitted the shores to cross the Atlantic. As 
to the members neglecting their classes during his ministra- 
tions, matter of fact is against the charge. On the testimony 
of the leaders, not only do the new members meet regularly, 
but the old ones are improved in their attention to the duty. 
But if even this were not the case, I cannot conceive why 
the blame should rest so heavily upon Mr. Caughey, since 
his exhortations are so pointed and frequent on the subject 
— urging the whole society to be punctual in attendance on 
this excellent, prudential ordinance. In all other matters 
of moment, he is, as far as I am able to judge, a genuine 
Wesleyan, supporting his positions with an apparent enthusi- 
astic appeal to the writings of Mr. Wesley. But, to the 
points in question. 

You ask — not because you are disposed to believe it, but 
because you have heard it — " Is not Mr. Caughey open to 
the charge of vanity, in so often quoting himself — appeal- 
ing to his experience and observations ? " The charge may 
unquestionably be preferred, but the proof may not be quite 
so easily established. Are the persons, it may be demanded, 
who prefer it, entitled to respect, or remarkable for humility 
themselves ? or rather, are they not seeking for an apology 
for their own vacancy and inexperience in the things of God 
■— habitually shrinking from the scriptural practice of declar- 



APPENDIX. 449 

ing the work of the Spirit to others ? In the Epistles of the 
Apostles, and especially those of St. Paul, we do not only 
find allusions, but lengthened accounts of personal experi- 
ence, faith, and practice. These, of course, on the same 
principle, are subject to the same charge. Nor is the 
venerable Wesley less so, in giving his experience in print 
to the world, in his published Journals, during his life. Such 
an objection, if fairly followed out, will lead to the subversion, 
not only of love-feasts, but class and band-meetings. The 
royal Psalmist was not ashamed of giving a general invi- 
tation to such as were disposed to accept it, to come and 
listen to him, while declaring what God had done for his 
soul: nor are the preachers backward in employing his 
example as an argument, in urging the members of society 
to speak, when timidity, modesty, or other conflicting feel- 
ings produce a temporary pause on the subject of personal 
experience in a large assembly. What ! are we to urge 
others to speak, and to remain silent ourselves ? Arc we to 
have ordinances established among us for the express purpose 
of coming at each other's experience, and of aiding that 
experience when we have arrived at the desired knowledge, 
and to remain mute as Christian teachers ? Are we to hear 
the experience of others, and are they not to be privileged 
with ours ? Is the shepherd to know where and how the 
flock are feeding, and are they to remain ignorant of the 
fact where and how he himself is living ? His own experi- 
ence, if good, can do them no harm ; if bad, or meagre, 
there is a reason for its concealment. If experience is only 
to be shown in practice, there is at once an end of the 
fellowship of saints. I should be glad to know too, what, in 
such case, becomes of the pulpit and the prens. The 
Wesleyans assume it as a fact, that their ministers are not 
of that class of public teachers who deal in unfelt truths. 



450 APPENDIX. 

fhis being the case, why should a man, who has a right to 
the advantage of that opinion on the part of the people, be 
subject to the charge of vanity on letting it out to them 
that such and such statements are the result of his own 
experience and observation ? Is a man to make use of his 
intellect, his eyes, and his ears, and to give the result of his 
observations to the world on all that comes under his notice, 
save his own experience as a Christian minister ? Is all to 
be kept sacredly boxed up in his soul till he dies — till his 
biographer, should he have one, is pleased to let out the 
secret to the public ? Are politicians, philosophers, agricul- 
turists, chemists, in short, all classes of experimentalists, 
to publish the result of their experience and operations 
to the wide world, and is a Christian minister not to be 
allowed to tell his still more important tale to, say a thou- 
sand professing Christians, enclosed within the walls of God's 
house, where his theme is not only suited to the place, but 
where he meets with the hearty response of the one half of 
his auditory, and where the other half ought to be ashamed 
of themselves, either because of their stunted growth in the 
divine life or want of relish for divine things ? I need not 
tell you, that a minister has to think, hear, read, see, and 
feel for others than himself; and is not unfrequently obliged, 
like the Apostle Paul, to become " a fool," even in matters 
of experience, and at the hazard of being charged with the 
pride of boasting, for the sake of others, that the grace 
of God may be magnified in him. As it regards myself, I 
confess that my confidence is generally strengthened, when, 
in reading a work, or listening to a narrative, I find the 
author or the speaker able to add, "I heard — I saw — 
I felt it." In such case, I find myself at the spring-head ; 
and if there is judgment combined with sincerity and good 
general character for truthfulness, I consider myself as 



APPENDIX. 151 

indebted to the individual for thus stooping to confirm my 
faith in this particular way. I say stooping, for all the 
pride of human nature will rise up in rebellion against it» 
Every Christian minister is bound to go before his flock, not 
only in doctrine and practice, but in experience ; and those 
are the most apt to conceal their religion, who have the least 
to make known. It would be well if, on this subject, minis- 
ters were a little more communicative. It would preserve 
them from many improprieties, as the people would then 
have a check upon them in social life, by being able, as in 
the case of " The Pulpit and the Reading Desk," to confront 
the preacher with the man. Do not mistake me. I am not 
contending for a constant exhibition of personal experience, 
and of such incidents and providences as have come under 
our own notice, or with which we may have been either 
immediately or remotely connected ; but there is a differ- 
ence between a little, and none at all ; between a completely 
sealed fountain, and a few drops ; and a man has no more 
occasion to be ashamed of his Christian experience, than he 
has to be ashamed of its divine author — Jesus Christ. It 
is doubtful whether, in such case, we are not shrinking from 
the cross, and whether such backwardness is not traceable 
to the pride and carnality of the human heart. 

The other question — " Does not Mr. Caughey pretend to 
something like immediate inspiration, in reference to char- 
acter?" &c. — receives an answer in his mode of address, 
and generally lies in the simple, but effective use of a single 
word — the pronoun; employing the singular instead of the 
plural, like the old prophet, " Thou — thou — thou art the 
man ! " Take a case — and one will illustrate many more — 
in a congregation of mixed characters, sinners of every 
description, comprising from twelve hundred to two thousand 
persons ; the preacher asserts, " There is a man in the 



452 APPENDIX. 

gallery who has grieved the Spirit of God — he knows it 
■ — he feels it; to him, I am speaking," &c, &c. Would 
he be wide of the mark ? Is there one who has not ? It 
does not require the vision of a seer, to authorize a man to 
make this statement, or to foretell how it will be taken by 
some and interpreted by others. A person takes it home 
to himself, and the preacher is published as a discerner of 
spirits ! Or, we may advert to persons in debt, and unwil- 
ling to pay; availing themselves of various discreditable 
shifts and excuses to put off the day of reckoning. How 
many are there of these in a large assembly, owing from 
one to ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty pounds, and even 
more, with almost every figure between ? Let the minister 
state, " There is a man in this congregation indebted to 
another, (say a certain sum ; ) he might have paid him but 
has not : till that specific sum is paid, the man has no right 
to expect mercy at the hand of God," &c. Would a 
personal appeal be out of place here ? Could a minister fire 
a shot of this kind among so many crows, without hitting 
and wounding some ? Any man acquainted with human 
nature, in all its dishonesty and selfishness, and with the 
state of society, in its wants, its commerce, its borrowing 
and lending, its trusting, swindling, over-reaching, its day- 
books and legers, may select a hundred cases, in which 
hundreds are implicated, and feel in silence such personal 
and pointed appeals ; but there is only one, perhaps, who 
yields to the blow, and has simplicity enough to publish the 
effect of the appeal to the world, and honesty enough to pay 
his debts, at the bidding of the Spirit of God in the 
ministry of the word. On this principle, every faithful 
minister is a seer ; and it is not uncommon for persons to 
charge others with having informed the preacher of some 
facts relative to their personal history. The thoughts of 



APPENDIX. 453 

tneir hearts are made manifest to themselves by the ministry, 
in the first instance, and then by themselves to others, in 
the next. 

As to the question, " Is it correct that the converts in 
these revivals disappear with the instrument of them ? " 

1. I should like an answer to some other questions, before 
that is attended to ; an! the querist will allow me to ask, in 
return, Is it a fact, that all who profess to receive good 
relinquish their hold of religion, and go back into the world ? 

2. Is it to be admitted that, if they are not found in one 
society, they are not, therefore, to be found in another ; if 
not in one circuit not, therefore in another ; if not among 
the Wesleyans, not in other religious communities ? Who 
among the objectors will take the credit of possessing the 
knowledge necessary, both for extent and accuracy, to 
answer a question of this nature ? But, 3. Are not scores 
of persons to be found, in different places, who in these 
revivals were brought under serious impressions, and who, 
to the present moment, have maintained as creditable a 
Christian profession as those who can boast of a less turbu- 
lent, though perhaps a much slower process ? 4. If ten 
are saved to God and society out of every hundred, is not a 
revival to be hailed with joy ? There are ministers — I do 
not say Wesleyans — who pass away from among men with 
out the knowledge of a single reformation ; omitting every 
thing in the shape of conversion having ever been effected 
by their ministry — a ministry, perhaps, of thirty or forty 
years' continuance ! 5. Should it, however, even be the fact 
— which is not admitted — that the converts in these revivals 
do not stand, — what then ? Are we, in consequence of 
this, to assume it as a further fact, that the work was not 
genuine ? Would not such assumption operate against any 
work being real in the backslider, in any other given case, 
from a David to a Peter, with every grade between, and 



454 APPENDIX. 

also lead to the doctrine of " Once in grace, always in 
grace ? " For this, no thorough Wesleyan will contend. 
"A desire to flee from the wrath to come," is as genuine a 
work of God, in its degree, and for the time being, (and, as 
such, is recognized, by being made the condition of admis- 
sion to church membership,) as true repentance, and will 
lead to the latter, to Christ, and to beaven, if not checked. 
Revivals, generally speaking, are beginnings ; and without 
them, there can be no glorious finish. We must take the 
beginning on our way to the end. The best of seed may be 
sown, and yet fail, when no fault is to be found with either 
the grain, or the husbandman that has scattered it ; the soil, 
the season, and a hundred other things have to be taken 
into the account. I go further, and maintain that no man 
is accountable, unless it be through neglect, or the propaga- 
tion of error, for the stability and standing of his converts ; 
no more than the husbandman, just referred to, after having 
sown good seed in his field, and seen it spring up, is respon- 
sible for " the full corn in the ear," — is bound, in short, to 
protect it from mildew, the birds of the air, &c, and to 
insure a succession of fruitful seasons; no more than a 
parent is responsible for the good behavior of his child, 
during his absence, or can be expected to secure steadfast- 
ness in every case through a prolonged fife. And this 
brings me to another point. If the minister, who is the 
honored instrument of a revival of the work of God, mani- 
fests nothing but ardent zeal, preaches the truth as it is in 
Jesus, and burns with pure love to God and man — while in 
the midst of it is obliged to remove to another place, where 
the same spirit is evinced, the same plans are adopted, the 
same unwearied diligence is observed, and the same signs 
follow, — if this, I say, were to be the case, it is but 
reasonable to believe, and charitable to hope, that had he 
continued, being the same in spirit and practice, that the 



APPENDIX. 455 

"work also would have continued — new converts being added, 
and those of an earlier date not only preserved but strength- 
ened. You will perceive by this remark, if not where I am, 
at least where I wish to be. When a child sickens, or 
becomes wayward, the fault, perhaps, is as much in the 
nurse and the tutor, as in the parent. Apply this, not only 
to Mr. Caughey — for why should he stand alone as a mark 
to be shot at? — but to zealous itinerant ministers generally 
When a man has been honored of God in the conversion of 
others, he is compelled, agreeably to the economy of Meth- 
odism, to leave his converts in the hands of others: but 
unless there is the same anxious care in nursing, as in bring- 
ing them at first to God ; to keep, as to lay hold, no wonder 
that there should be a falling away. Now, without calling 
in question either the piety or the good sense of the breth- 
ren, it is well known that, in the present day, as in apostolic 
times, " there are diversities of gifts ; " yes, and of views 
and feelings too, or why so many clashing opinions on the 
subject of these revivals ? This being admitted, suppose a 
preacher to enter into the labors of one of our revivalists, 
who, constitutionally, is disinclined to every thing like agita- 
tion, noise, fermentation, and what not, and who, from a 
certain course of training, some peculiar views, associations, 
or prepossessions, has been led to express his disaffection, is 
it at all likely that the new converts will profit under the 
ministry of such a man, or even respect him, to the extent 
in which they would have improved under another of the 
same spirit and views with the man under whose ministry 
they were roused to a sense of their danger ? I have no 
wish here to encourage fastidiousness : but we know enough 
of human nature to assure us of its likes and dislikes, and 
somewhat too much of the Wesleyan body not to feel pained 
at the difference which even older members make between 
preachers on the same circuit, appointed by the Conference, 

13787 227 



456 APPENDIX. 

one for Paul and another for Apollos. If the old are often 
fickle to a fault, can we expect the young to walk without 
halting ? Special meetings, special nursing, special training, 
will be found as necessary after, as during a revival. A 
revival must be carried on, as well as begun. We have not 
done with it when the tumult subsides, when the effervescence 
goes off, when the groans of penitents die on the ear. Let 
those then, in the first place, cease to rail against revivals, 
who make no extra effort to preserve the field that has been 
won. The excellent men on the York circuit, Messrs. Wal- 
ton, Cheetham, Curnock, and Radcliffe, are anxiously labor- 
ing, by extra efforts, to preserve to the church, in the revival 
here, the souls that have been brought out of the world. 
Secondly, let no Wesleyan be forward to speak against, what 
some persons are pleased to designate, " noisy meetings," till 
he is satisfied that Mr. Wesley was in the wrong in first sanc- 
tioning them — the meetings themselves having been the 
starting point of experimental religion in Methodism. But I 
forbear here, as you are acquainted with my views of such 
meetings, in the small tract on the " Order of God," ap- 
pended to the "Village Blacksmith." Thirdly, least of all 
— and an appeal is here made to ministers belonging to every 
religious community — ought that man to impugn the labors 
of others in revivals, who rarely, if ever, in his ordinary work, 
either sees or hears tell of any fruit of his own ministry ? 
Non-usefulness will do very well to pair with the supposed 
blasted fruit of others. 

Excuse haste. I have no time to enter upon other points 
noticed by you, though persuaded that they are all capable 
of satisfactory solutions. The writer to whom you refer is 
remarkable for perspicuity, research, force, and occasional 
grace ; but he is not sufficiently evangelical in his sentiments. 
Ever yours most truly, 

James Everett. 



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